Happenings of a Many Days
by Mika Miire
Summary: The experiences of Hermione as she develops a noxious relationship with Draco.
1. Walking In

~Disclaimer: "Disclaimer: something said to save one's ass." –Dogma.  Anyways, why are these things necessary?  This is FANfiction, hence the implication that this is not ORGINALfiction hence the implication I don't own the characters, the setting, anything that © applies to and I think pretty soon I won't even own what I made up myself.

"England and American are two countries separated by a common language." –George Bernard Shaw.  I'm American but I try my best to sound authentic. ^-^  And for the sake of things, most of the Dark Lord coming back and everything I found out _after_ I wrote this sometimes contradicts me, but I'm gonna ignore that.  Hope you can too. Anyways, r&r por favor.

            ~-~-~-~-~-~-~

"Er…no.  I'll catch up with you later, Harry."  Harry stared quizzically at his best friend.  "I want to go find Hermione."

"Oh.  She's doing well, isn't she?"

"'Course," Ron reassured Harry.  An uneasy feeling squirmed about in his stomach.

"You know where she is then?"

"Yeah…I think so," said Ron, beginning to walk away backwards, distractedly.

"See you later, then."

"See you," called Ron as he turned and jogged down another corridor, carrying his books under his arm.

Ron walked over to Professor Flitwick's room.  It took him a while but he finally reached it.  The torches lit the darkening corridors as night began to be cast over the castle.  Ron found he accidentally passed it, so he doubled back and reached for the door knob.  He heard something inside and hesitated, not knowing why he was a bit timid.  But he pressed on the knob anyways and turned it.  __

Ron dropped his book as he looked inside.  Hermione was sitting on a desk, and before her was Malfoy.  He couldn't see their faces since they were currently in a very passionate kiss, Hermione's hand were fastened around his neck, and Malfoy's were tangled in her hair.  A small strangled noise came out of his throat, and the two in front of him pushed away.  They turned, and seeing Ron, standing there with a betrayed and disgusted look on his face, Hermione gasped.

Ron came back to life and spit at Hermione's feet before setting off in a run.

"RON!" screamed Hermione, scrambling off the desk.  Malfoy smirked.  He put his hands in the pocket of his robes and before strolling out of the classroom, he leisurely picked up the book that Ron and had left behind.  As he stood up again the smile from his face faded away.  He looked around the classroom nervously.  "So," he thought to himself.  "What's going to happen now?"

"Ron!" she yelled.  "Ron!  Ron!"

Ron didn't really know why he was running, but he couldn't think.  He knew he wanted to get to Harry, and that was it.  Ron rounded a corner and pelted up to the fat lady.  "Phoenix Feathers," he gasped.  The painting swung open and he burst into the common room.

People looked up at him as he appeared frayed and desperately out of breath, but he didn't care.  "Where's Harry?" he panted as the fat lady closed behind him.

"He might be at the library," said a third year.

"I'm right here," Harry said, coming down from the boy's stairs.  He looked very confused at everyone fixated on Ron, though understandably.  What was wrong?

Ron pelted for the stairs and dragged Harry with him.  "You won't believe it!" he was saying.  The two vanished around a corner, making everyone whisper and giggle, plotting what it might be about.

Hermione burst threw the door.  Everyone's eyes were now on her.

 "What are you looking at!" she barked shrilly.  "Where's Ron?"

A few girls giggled.  "He and Harry went up to their dormitory," informed a fifth year boy.  "Something urgent."

A first year sitting near the stairs saw that Hermione had tears in her eyes as she ran up.  "Oi!" called a boy after her.  "You can't go up there!"

Hermione reached the boys' dormitory and put her handle on the knob.  She didn't turn it.

She started jerking weirdly.  The tears started flooding out of her eyes.  Now she had come all this way and was about to face her two best friends, after everything.  It was ugly crying, coming in small and in short gasps.  She instead slid down the wall next to the door and buried her face in her hands, remembering the start of all this.  How she had been pulled into this…but by Draco, no.  Not completely.  It had been her choice…she decided to do all of this.

"When did everything go so wrong?" she whispered to herself.

A while back, Hermione had been tipped of by Professor McGonagall.  "Nothing is official yet," McGonagall had said excitedly, extremely proud of her student.  "But if everything stays how it is, I'm sure you'll be appointed Head Girl next year."

"What?" Harry gasped, sarcastically, as Hermione told them minutes later.

"Uh," Ron shook his head.  "My own friend, a Head Girl. What an embarrassment."

Hermione hit his arm playfully.  "You're just mad you're not one," she laughed.

Ron shook it off.  "I've never wanted to be Head Girl, Hermione."

"Anyways," she continued, ignoring the last comment.  "If all goes according to plan, I'll be the Head Girl.  I should write to Mum and Dad."

"You, Head Girl?" asked an annoyed voice.  The three turned to see Draco standing away from then.  "We'll see about that."

"What'd he mean by that," hissed Ron as soon as Draco walked further down, towards the Slytherin table.  Goyle and Crabbe met him like dogs welcoming their master.

"I don't know," said Hermione, a worried look on her face.  "Lucius Malfoy's not a governor anymore, is he?"

"No, he's not," assured Harry.  "Malfoy's just bluffing."

"I dunno," Ron shook his head.  "I heard my Dad talking about him.  Said he's been doing more business in the school then my Dad would like.  But really," he said more comfortingly, as Hermione looked anxious.  "There's not much he can do!  He doesn't decide anything that goes around on here."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on their way to history when a third year ran over to them.  They knew her by sight by not by name.

"Oi!" she called, reaching them.  "Hermione," the student was looking at the only girl in their trio.

"What?" Hermione asked, curious.

"Professor McGonagall wants to see you.  She's in her classroom."

"Why?"

"I dunno," the student shrugged.  "Come on."

Glancing at Harry and Ron, who were looking perplexed, Hermione said, "Tell Professor Binns I'll be late."

They nodded at Hermione and the student as the girls headed off for the Transfiguration room.

Harry and Ron had an excellent lesson.  Professor Binns was extra apathetic during class, allowing the boys to flick paper balls at each other and for other students to find alternative diversions.  But they were constantly distracted with the fact that Hermione didn't show up all lesson.

"Where is she?" asked Ron for the fourth time as he took the paper ball out of his hair.

"Dunno," said Harry, worried as well.  "It's almost lunch time, I bet we'll see her there."

After the lunch bell rang, Harry and Ron gathered up their stuff.  When they finally got down to the Great Hall, they heard hurried footsteps and looked behind them.  Hermione was running towards them, a look of great annoyance on her face.

"Where've you been?" asked Ron, watching her try and catch her breath.

"Professor McGonagall has just informed me."  She took another breath; she had a very angry tone to her voice.  "That there will be new rules enforced next year to decided whose Head Boy and Girl!"

"So?" asked Ron, thickly.  "You'll be decided this year."

"The rules are _for_ next year, Ron.  _For_ next year.  That means that I have to go through a survey and an inquiry.

"Why?" asked Harry as they started walking towards the table.

"Who knows?" she said shrilly.  "Probably something to with that evil , ol' twit, Lucius Malfoy!  Professor McGonagall warned me he was involved."

"_What_?" hissed Harry.

"I know!  She told me that he was going to be one of the people asking me things.  I bet Draco did this, I bet you!"

Ron glared over at the Slytherin table where Pansy Parkinson was annoying Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle.  "You know, I bet you're right."

"Of course I am!" Hermione continued in her high-pitched ranting.  "I mean, really, all these rules have been constructed.  I wouldn't be surprised if one of them was 'Only Purebloods.' the whole thing is just to keep me from succeeding."

"Why'd Professor McGonagall tell you?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Because she's nice."  After a deep intake, Hermione calmed down considerably and started to talk with a bit more reasonably.  "I think I've become her protégé.  She seemed really upset by the new measures.  You'd think she would happy, it's stricter and assures more obedience, but no.  _So, _I think she must be unhappy because it's not designed to be strict, it's designed to be unfair."

"How can it," Ron sneered.  "You haven't broken a single rule."

"Oh yes I have!" she said, sounding like she was getting to what bothered her most.  "After all these years, all these adventures.  I just wasn't expelled because it turned out ok."  She put her face in her hands.  "All the years of hard work and I might not be Head Girl."

Harry and Ron tried to assure Hermione, but she seemed beyond reason.  She dashed away to talk to Professor Binns about her missed lesson, but she really didn't seem to present the whole day.  At night, when Harry and Ron said goodbye, she merely waved and gave a faint, "Nigh," as a 'goodnight.'

The next day, Hermione went over to Professor Binns' classroom and paced past the door, and over to his desk.  She shuffled papers around, talking to herself frustratedly.  "He said the notes would be here!  Where are they?  Maybe he forgot, maybe he gave them to another student.  Maybe, maybe, maybe he decided at the last minute that I need to copy my own."

"Looking for these?" said a confidently smug voice from across the room.  Hermione's head shot up and she stared at the boy in the doorway.  He was leaning against the door, waving a hand full of papers in one hand.  He had an arrogant smirk and was in his Slytherin Quidditch robes.  He must have been practicing or something, since there wasn't any game.  "Or maybe they're right here?" he asked, imitating the way she had been speaking.  She was annoyed with how he made his voice very high and idiotic.

Hermione paused, looking at the papers in his hand, to his unrelenting face.  "Suppose you'll give them to me."

He grinned.

Hermione had to admit, 'Yeah, right.  Draco, give up that quickly? Unlikely.'  She thought, tentatively going over her chances in her mind.  'The last thing I want to do is stay here and let him dominant the conversation.'  "So," she spoke up.  "What do you want?"

"I'm not sure," he said casually, now looking at the papers like food he didn't want to eat.  "Just bored."

Hermione growled inwardly at such smugness.  She had to notice, though, the sophisticated manner in which he spoke.  "Well. I don't have time for you," she said matter of factly.  "Give them here or else-"

He laughed softly.  "Or else what?" he smiled at her.

'No,' she told herself.  'You're just giving him a fight, and that's what he wants.'  She hesitated again, trying to think of way that would make him even more bored talking to her.  "Fine."  She said, walking over to a desk.  "I'll just sit here until Professor Binns gives me new notes, or you give me those."

Again he smiled, now while watching her march over to a desk and sit herself down.  "On a hunger strike?  Going to sit there until your knight in shining armor comes.  Who, by the way, is dead.  But, at least he's a real wizard."

"Uh, what do you want, Malfoy!" she snapped, her frustration rising.

"I told you I'm not sure," he repeated.  "Dead bored.  Dead, dead, dead bored.  So," he looked down at her and flashed his classic grin. "I thought that I should come here and bug you."

Hermione ran her hand threw her hair.  She had had enough.  "Alright, Malfoy!" she said, standing up very quickly and pulling out her wand.  Malfoy didn't falter, he looked at it with a stoic expression.  "Give them here!"

"Make me," Draco sneered, a plan already in his mind.

Sparks flew out of Hermione's wand, but they didn't hit Draco.  He had put her notes in front of his face at the last second, and the sparks, powerful enough, began to char them and one side of the paper caught fire.  Draco let them go, watching the burning papers soar to the ground, quiet impressed by the entertainment.

There was a moment where Hermione was speechless then started waving her arms a bit before shouting, "That' just fine!"

"Look," said Draco, like he was showing a baby something.  "There go the papers."

Hermione paused for a second before glaring up at him, tears in her eyes.  They were not like the tears she would cry outside the boy's dormitory.  A far cry away, if you will.  These were innocent tears.  "Fine!  You got your kicks.  And I broke a rule.  Are you done now?  Happy?"

"Quite," he smiled, and turned to walk away.

Hermione shot up, pointed her wand at his retreating back, and shouted the first thing that popped up into her head.  "Everbero!"

A large, blue, gust of wind soared out of her wand and smashed into Draco.  His legs gave way, and he slid to the ground, his head slamming into the floor.  He sat up quickly and his hand went immediately to his back where the force had hit him.

Grasping reality again, she squealed, running over to him and kneeling down.  She put her hand on his back and he pushed her away.

"Get off, Mudblood," he barked.  She withdrew, taken aback.  Then she lowered her hands and saw him painfully stand up.   He looked down at her.  "You'll regret that," he informed her indignantly.

"Will I?  So is your father going to do something now?  You better tell him!" she said, her defiance back at once.  She stood up and they glared at each other.

In response, he took another step towards her so that they shared the same breath.  This close, it was harder to hold her ground but Hermione stared boldly back at his intimidating, grey eyes.

Hermione astonished herself with a thought she would have never believed to have.  As they were so close, she saw in her mind Malfoy lean towards her for the perfect kiss, like they always do muggle movies.  She looked jarred, but Draco hardly noticed.  She looked back at him, as she had been staring at the ground behind him to think, and was surprised again.  He was scanning her over trying to figure out what was going on in her mind.  He mustn't!  But then…he stopped.  He took a step backwards and began to leave the classroom.

"You owe me notes!" Hermione spat as he tried to leave.  He stopped at the door.  She couldn't believe she had said that.  'That will just make him stay!' she growled. 

"Notes?" Draco asked, looking like he couldn't believe such a proposal.  "Oh, yes, let me write them for you."  At least he turned back away from her.

'Good he's…going.  That's good.  Good, good, good.'

"Well, Granger?" Malfoy said, wanting a response.

"Huh?" she said, distractedly.  "Oh…Yesss."

He grinned, knowing she wasn't thinking clearly and he had an advantage.  "What's that?" he asked her.

"What?"

"I said 'Believe that.'"

"Believe what?"

"'That'."

"I know that."

"Good."

Hermione paused.  Was she being outsmarted?  Her brain was working oddly slow.  "I…have to go."  She tried to push past Malfoy, but he wouldn't move.  One of his arms was blocking her passage way since he was leaning on it.  She struggled to move him.

"Trying to snuggle, muggle?"

"Don't flatter yourself."

He laughed.  It had been sarcastic comment, but did she know that?

"W-What are you laughing at," Hermione growled.

"Nothing," he said innocently.

"No, tell me."

"I don't take orders from you," he sneered.

"Fine then."  She ducked under his arm and left the classroom.  Malfoy hissed jokingly after her.  'He really is a Slytherin, isn't he?'


	2. The Inquiry

"Look, Hermione," Ron sighed the next day as her nervous mood had not yet lifted.  "Don't worry about it!  We'll help you prepare for your inquiry.  It's has to be months away."

"It's tomorrow," Hermione said in a dead voice.

"What?" they gasped together.

"I know," sighed Hermione.  "I've only ever broken the rules for the greater good!"

"Don't worry," Ron said, making a decisively Let's just go over everything right now."

So they talked into the night at their common room, preparing answers for every question they thought would be relevant.

"But how do we know they're going to ask this?" Harry growled, putting down his quill.

"We don't," agreed Hermione.

"No," Ron said stubbornly.  "As long as we have answers to every relevant area, we're fine.  Hermione, why again were you near the library in second year when we shouldn't be wandering about?"

"Because," Hermione said automatically.  "I had just come up with answer that would solve the problem.  I had taken a safety measure, the mirror I used for checking around corners, before I attempted to tackle this problem which I succeeded in and helped avoid Hogwarts shutting down.  This demonstrates my skills for dealing with dangerous situations effectively and safely."

"Excellent," smiled Ron.  "I can't imagine what they can do, everything's fine!"

"I don't know," Harry frowned.  "If Lucius Malfoy is asking, it'll be twisted beyond reason.."  Hermione nodded in a defeated sort of way.

The next day, all the students who had a chance for Head Boy or Girl met in Professor McGonagall's classroom.  Lucius was sitting behind a desk with several papers.  Next to him was a tired old witch who seemed to be there just for show.  She never spoke, but sat and looked around.

Hermione and Parvati were the only Gryffindors.  There were two boys from Ravenclaw, and small, Hufflepuff girl, and one Slytherin.  It was Malfoy.  He was standing opposite Hermione with a smirk on his face, and he kept glancing over at Hermione who looked like she might vomit.  When she caught his eye for the first time he mouthed, "Mudblood."  When he was called for questioning, he bumped her as he passed and hissed, "Say goodbye to your badge."

"Ah, yes, Draco," Lucius said in his calm, slithering voice.  Hermione glared at the blatant injustice.  "I reviewed your papers," he said officially, pushing some sheets forward.  Draco was looking more pompous than ever.  "And interviewed your teachers.  Everything seems in order, there's isn't a blemish on your record."  Lucius glanced at the papers once more.  "Very well, you may step down."  Draco went back to where he was standing, flashing Hermione a victorious look.  She was cursing the moment where he found out she might be Head Girl.

Next, Lucius interviewed the Ravenclaws, and he found small faults that any student would have, and dismissed them.  "Caught behind the bushes with a young Miss Yuna, were we?  Tisk tisk, not very decent at all."  Then he called up Parvati.  Hermione was beginning to panic.  It seemed Lucius had found some way to pick out anything misfit.

"Alright," he said, still in his drawling voice.  "Miss Granger, if you please."  Hermione stepped forward, trying to avoid Draco's eye.  "I see, hmmm.  It seems to me you were involved with trouble each year, big trouble, that would normally involve expulsion."

"That was-" Hermione began.

"Please do not interrupt," Lucius said before returning to his condemning.  "It also says here that you were seen sneaking out of bed once with another boy, all the way to a tower."

"Yes, just after Malfoy was there," Hermione piped in.

"Malfoy?" Lucius said, pretending to be confused, but he dropped the subject after that.  Hermione tried to pursue it, but Lucius added, "Please do not interrupt me again, Miss Granger.  It seems to be a habit of yours, a disregard for authority.  Why, you're illegal brewing of love potions has even made the news," Lucius drawled coyly.

"I never brewed love potions!  Draco and his friends told that lie to Rita Skitter, ignoring Professor Dumbledore's rule, and they helped her collect incorrect information where she shouldn't even have been.  In fact-"

"Alright, Miss Granger.  You seem to be talking more than me, you may step down."

Hermione froze.  No, she couldn't have lost.  "That's not fair," she said slowly, ice dripping from every word.

"Excuse me young girl, I am the adult here."

Hermione looked at the witch beside him, a pleading look on her horrified face.  "No," Hermione whispered.  "You surely have to say something, I am the most law abiding student here."

"_Miss Granger_," Lucius said again.  "If you would please step back?  It isn't your turn anymore."

"Well?" Draco cut in. Lucius gave him a look telling him to stay out.

"We'll see about this," Hermione whispered.

"Excuse me, young…lady," Lucius seemed to be getting fed up.  "Don't threaten me, it wouldn't be wise.  Now!  You," he jerked his hand forward and the Hufflepuff girl jumped up, looking terrified.


	3. By the Lakeside

Hermione went to the outer grounds.  She felt very apathetic about the day, she felt like being alone.  She wasn't in the mood for the voice that called to her.  "Hey, Mudblood!"

She looked over to see Malfoy's gleeful face.  He was alone to, leaving the two of them near the castle close to the lake. "Go away," she said, continuing her walk. The last thing she wanted was to be near him, as she was certain it was he who lost her everything she had been working for.

"Aw, that's not nice," teased Malfoy.

"Just like you."

"That's not nice either." He seemed to be bored again and he was now walking towards her.  "Why won't Grangy play nice?"

"Oh, shut it, you pig."

He chuckled.  "Grangy is misbehaving.  Not like Grangy, not at all."

"Fine," Hermione said, not wanting to fight once more.  "What do you want?"

"To play with Grangy," he smirked.

"Oh, go play with Crabby or Goalie."

Malfoy frowned and narrowed his eyes.  "What a strange creature this muggle is." He kept talking as if he was observing her like one would examine a disobedient animal.

"Ok," Hermione said, trying to put a stop to this.  But he was very good and answering just right.  "You can have your fun with someone else.  I'm going to ignore you."

"But I want to have my fun with you," he said, following her slowly as she started to walk away.

"Leave me alone."

"Grangy isn't playing."

"Leave me alone."  She waved her hand dismissively.

"Is Grangy having her bad-bad time?"  Hermione didn't stop, furious now at what Malfoy had said.  "I think she is."

"Ok!" Hermione shouted, turning around.  "Leave me alone, Malfoy!  I am not in the mood!"

"That's what I was just saying," he interrupted but she raised another hand.

"Don't you dare talk to me!  Just walk off to the castle and do whatever you want.  There's a guarantee it's allowed.  Go!"

"I don't take orders from you," he smiled, recovering him.  "What, Grangy?" he answered to her glare.  "I'm not doing anything illegal!"

"You CAN'T do anything illegal.  That's physically impossible.  Go away, you-you," she searched for words, "You whore!"

This made Malfoy laugh even harder, taking away the effect Hermione had wanted.  She looked so funny using a word like 'whore.'  "If anyone's a slut around here, it's you."

"What? I haven't touched a boy!"

"Oh, I know which is why you dream about it," he said slyly, bending a bit towards her and cocking his eyebrows.

"No, I don't!"  She stopped.  She was acting just like he wanted her too.  "Oh, you're right, I can't stop it," she said sarcastically, turning and walking away.

"Hermione, Hermione," he said scoldingly.   "When will you learn?  You randy girl."  Hermione paused for a spilt second before continuing, put Draco pushed the subject.   They were closing in on the castle wall.  "If you want I can set you up with someone.  I think maybe Longbottom might take up the offer.  Maybe it'd be the night of dreams if he lives up to his name, his last one I mean."  Hermione didn't get it.  "But maybe…Wealsey would do it.  By 'it' I mean you.  'It', 'you', what's the difference, eh?"

"Ok," Hermione said again, turning around.  She pulled out her wand and pointed it at him.  She started walking away, trying desperately to end their conversation.

Malfoy stared at the wand, than at her, and he smirked.  "Ok.  Loose your Head Girl badge, I don't care."

"I wouldn't not lose Head Girl because of _this_.  What, with your father changing everything for you as needed, just so he doesn't have a failure of a son."

For some reason he felt a hot pain in his chest.  Oh well, he ignored her last sentence.  He was walking towards her, daring her to curse him.

"Malfoy, I'm warning you."

"Consider your warning ignored." He was coming closer; she glanced behind herself to see how much room there was between her and the wall.  "Cornered, Mudblood?"

"Listen, Malfoy," she said, resentment pouring out of her word.  "Just because you have nothing else going for you doesn't mean you have to resort to DNA as your only weapon, you still have you money.  Guess everything 'good' about you isn't actually _you_, just your stinking, git for a father."

At that moment, Draco had only been a foot away from her.  He lunged suddenly and as she raised her wand arm into the air, he smashed with on hand and pinned her against the wall, holding down her other hand, and staring at her maliciously.  His narrow eyes were looking straight into her wide ones.  She was shaking with fear, too startled to fight back.  "What would you know about it, you worthless Muggle?  You're not even a witch."

"I have ten times more powerful you," she said incoherently, now struggling against him which was taxing since he was using his weight against her.

"Prove it," he snarled.

"I can't, you're using the Muggle way of fighting."

"What, too rough for you, Granger?"

Hermione squirmed hopelessly, but suddenly there was a face in front of her.  Lips pressed down on hers and, for some bizarre reason, her mouth opened.  There was a tongue insider her mouth, pressing down on her.  She'd never felt this before, not even with Krum.  She was exhilarated with a new sensation. Her body was engaged in something but she didn't know what was happening.  Somebody was pressing against her.

Like jumping out of slow mo, she snapped back and her eyes shot open.  She regained control of her body and threw Draco off her.  Even though she had fought him off her brain wasn't working properly.  Hermione dizzily turned towards the stairs and ran up into the castle and eventually her common room.


	4. Amare

What's with you, Hermione?" Ron asked for the fourth time.  Hermione had been acting quiet strange.  She had only been back in the Gryffindor common room an hour when Ron and Harry finally found her and sat down, telling her about the new Divination project.

"What?" said Hermione obliviously.  She was biting her lip in deep thought, and trying to hold down the secret pleasure that kept rising up in her whenever she thought of what just happened.  'It was wrong,' she kept thinking.  'It was violating…'  She kept trying not to think, 'it was fun.'  It was all a mingled sentiment of disgust and pleasure.

"Hermione," Harry said in a long, teasing voice, waving a hand in front of her face.

She jumped, and looked at him, appearing offended.  "What?" she barked.  She was truly over-excited and they could tell.

"What is it?" Ron said slyly, trying to pull it out of her.

"Nothing," she spat, dreading the red feeling in her face.  She almost smiled but it turned quickly into a frown.  She kept going back and fourth though emotions: first fear, than anger, yearn, and flattery.  She couldn't stop, and now she landed on suspicion.  'What if it was a joke?' she thought.

"You're acting very…odd," Harry said, shaking his head.

"What's it to you how I'm acting?" she flared up at him.  Harry leaned back, unsure of what to do; Ron started sniggering.  "What?" she barked, close to shouting.

"Nothing," he said quickly and defensively.  "I'm not doing anything am I?"

"I'm going to bed," she hissed.

"Hermione," Harry said, trying to make her talk sense.  "It's five o'clock."

"So?!  Maybe I want some extra sleep."  But she couldn't sleep; the excitement that had flooded her veins had not subsided.  She had too much adrenaline pumping through her so she walked back downstairs after ten minutes of pacing around her room.  She absentmindedly sat next to her friends and kept fidgeting and looking around.

"Twitchy, little ferret, aren't you?" teased Ron.  Hermione stopped dead, turning to look at him.  "Whoa!" laughed Ron; the effect of her sudden deadly calm alarming him.  "Seriously Hermione, what's with you?"

"Maybe I just had too much chocolate or maybe I'm just energetic, huh?  Ever thought of that?"

"Ok, fine, let's drop it," Harry said, tired of the subject.  "Anyways, now Ron and I have to summon a dream," he coed in a spooky voice.  "I guess we'll have to make it up again.  What to drown?"

"For the hundredth time?" sighed Ron.

They eventually stopped bothering Hermione about her odd behavior, but they couldn't resist taking it up again the next morning.  As they entered the Great Hall, moments after they had convinced Hermione to come down with them, Hermione ducked behind Ron who was the tallest.

"What?" asked Ron as Hermione slouched behind his back.

"Just keep walking," she breathed.

"Hermione, did something happen?" Ron said on a sudden suspicion, but she poked him in the back with her wand and he sped up.

After everyone sat down, Harry and Ron asked together, "So, are you going to tell us?"

"No," Hermione said simply, glancing over their shoulder to look at Malfoy.  He didn't seem any different.  He was eating with Crabbe and Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson was cuddling up to him, uninvited.

"Alright," Ron replied coolly, obviously offended.  "So, Harry..."  So the two discussed the matters of this year's Quidditch while they pretend not to notice Hermione's lack of concentration.  She was still staring at Draco, feeling almost betrayed as Pansy played her fingers on his neck and kept whispering into his ear.  'Don't be a git,' she kept reassuring herself.

Later, passing Charms on the way to Arithmancy, Hermione heard something that caught her attention and doubled back, listening from outside.

"And why would you want to cast one?" Professor Flitwick asked suspiciously.

"I think it would help my presentation on Magic verses Natural Emotion," said a senior boy.  "I would only cast a temporary one, but I think if I add that demonstration I'll get top grades on presenting."

"Hmmm…I suppose it's fine," Professor Flitwick said, sounding like he didn't agree.  "Caritas or Amare, I suggest Caritas.  It lasts shorter."

"Caritas," echoed the student.

"Watch where you say that," Flitwick corrected.  "Just a simple pointing of the wand and say the word, don't do it now!  But remember, besides your presentation-"

"I know, I know," laughed the student.  "No using it."

"Amare," whispered Hermione with a grin, recognizing the Latin word.


	5. Head Boy

After Arithmancy, Hermione made her way to the Great Hall for dinner.  She was considerably calmer although, now that she was back into potential facing of Draco, she felt embarrassed.  She walked to the Gryffindor table, not able to avoid looking at the Slytherins.  At least Pansy wasn't sitting next to Draco.

"Hey," Harry said happily, as Hermione sat opposite him.  "How was Arithmancy?"

"'Lo, Herfmione," said Ron as he tried to swallow his food.

"Hello, you two.  It was fine, how was Divination?"

They rolled their eyes.  "I have a terminal disease," informed Harry.  "Something about," he changed his voice to a higher pitched, spooky but stupid tone, "You were born with this, my dear. I see it in you now, like a grey mass fighting to spread into your very veins."  His voice changed back, "I asked her if it would kill me before the other threats against me would."  Ron snorted, drinking his pumpkin juice.  "She got all mad."

"Well, we had a chance to talk to Professor McGonagall on the way back," said Ron, making Hermione start.  "Yeah.  We saw her and sortof went up to her, and asked her if you'd still be in the running for Head Girl."  Hermione bit her lip and was again reminded of why she _didn't_ like Malfoy.  "And she said yes!" said Ron, excitement suddenly filling in his voice.

"What?" gasped Hermione, stunned and overjoyed at the same time.

"I know!  She said she's been speaking to Dumbledore and 'He will have the final say.'  She actually told us that Malfoy's dad wasn't happy at all about that.  She looked kindof content at that."

"I can't believe it," grinned Hermione.

"But," Harry cut in.  "She also said that the strict rules are still being enforced, so you should talk to her.  She said," and Harry imitated a teacher's voice for the second time, "'really must find her and tell her to speak with me.'"

"You're going ta be Head Girl," Ron said evilly.  "And there's nothing Malfoy can do to stop it."

He seemed right, even though Draco had obviously tipped off his dad, there didn't appear to be anything that could be done.  So, Hermione had floated through the halls for the next two days, eagerly awaiting her meeting with Dumbledore.  Professor McGonagall had told her that she would only have to talk to him once, and that it seemed inevitable that she would be pronounced next year's Head Girl.

"Think you're so great, Mudblood," spat a jealous voice as Draco passed her in the hall, as she was on her way to Dumbledore's office.

"Shut up," she growled at him, turning around to look at him.  Neither of them had mentioned the lakeside incident.  A Ravenclaw boy, James, was on his way from the other side as it seemed he would probably be placed Head Boy since Dumbledore had interfered.

"Look, Granger," Malfoy sneered.  "It's your Mudblood boyfriend."

"You look really stupid when you're so jealous."

"Since when did you care how I look," he said to make her awkward.

And it worked, she seized up before stating, "I don't.  Clear off."  She swished her long hair as she turned away from him, marching proudly away.

Malfoy turned away from her too and started to stride away, his black robes billowing behind him.  As he turned he met Pansy, who was leaning against a wall and looking sour.  "What?" he said after she didn't move.

"So," she said as she cleaned on her nails lazily.

"So what?"

"So, you're not Head Boy."

Draco tried not to contort his face in anger as he glared back at her, his eyes narrowing.  "Probably won't be in this place," he gave the hall around him a snobbish look.  "This place is obsessed with muggleborns.  You know the two Heads are both going to be Mudbloods?"

"No," Pansy gasped as she stopped cleaning her nails, looking outraged.

"Yea," he sneered, his disdainful look back.  "I should have gone to Durmstrang."

"So we all should have," said Pansy, not making much sense but Draco seemed to understand.  "But what can we do?  I mean, it's so far away, it's not like it can suddenly accept all these British kids."

"Well _I_ should have gone."

"Yea, than I wouldn't have to deal with you."

"Whatever.  Out of my way, Pansy."

"Malfoy," called a livid voice coming behind them.  Hermione appeared from behind the corner.

"Why is that Mudblood here?" asked Pansy.

Hermione felt a pang of offense, but she ignored her and looked at Draco.  "Dumbledore wants you."

"What?"

"He told me to come for you."

"Why?" Draco said suspiciously.

"Are you coming or not?" she snapped angrily.  Hermione turned and left.

Draco turned to Pansy, thinking.  "Well?" demanded Pansy.  "Go!  I don't want this school run by muggles!"

"Shut your gob," order Draco as he turned and ran to meet Hermione, giving Pansy a farewell look before turning to the brown-haired girl beside him who was pretending he wasn't there.  "So why am I coming?"  Hermione continued in her fast walk, head held up high.  "Hermiiiione," teased Draco.  "Oh, muggle," he called.

"Ok, first thing," Hermione snapped, turning to him.  "I am NOT a muggle.  I am not a Mudblood, I am a witch!  I am a sixteen year old girl who has the gift of magic.  I am the future Head Girl and it looks that _you_ will be the future Head Boy."  Draco blinked his eyes open.  "I will NOT stand for this anymore!"  A struggling was heard in the back of her voice.  "I don't deserve to be called Mudblood, and I don't care how I was born I am here now and I have proved that I deserve the highest rank a student can have.  You can think whatever you want!  Just don't bother me with it!"

There was an awkward pause before Draco said, "Fine."  He didn't know why he said that.  He tried to say, 'Alright, Mudblood,' as a taunt, but those weren't the words that left his mouth.  They walked again, more quietly, to Dumbledore's office. "Geez, Mudblood," Draco heard himself say.  Hermione turned, a furious look her face as she opened her mouth.   "Sorry!" he added.  He gawked at his comment, not knowing really what he was saying or about to say, words just kept spilling out of his mouth.  "I'll just have to get used to calling you 'Granger.'"

Hermione paused, a peculiar look on her face.  'Did he just say something thoughtful?' she asked herself.  'Then again, he's the type of person who'd do that.  Make fun of me I mean.  I bet he's up to something.'  Hermione stood there, wondering how he could possibly be nice to her as a come back.

"What are you looking at, Mu…Grangy," Draco said.

"Come on," sighed Hermione and she turned to face a gargoyle statue.  "Earwax."  The gargoyle moved and Draco stared, wondering why that had been the password.

They entered Dumbledore's office, the Ravenclaw boy, James, was standing to one side looking nervous.  "Ah, Mr. Malfoy," said Dumbledore, standing up.  "I have called you here to ask you if you would be interested in Head Boy."

Draco stared.  "But-I thought you were giving it to him," he jerked his head towards James who twitched.

"Mr. Teren has declined, and thought it would be excellent to have the Head Boy and Girl from opposite houses."

"So I'm the back up?" Malfoy said, sounding rude.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.  "No, Mr. Malfoy.  The next in line is Mr. Isaacs, also from Ravenclaw.  But I thought I would offer it to you first."

Hermione looked at Draco, who seemed to be thinking it over.  He paused and then said, "Alright, fine.  I will be."  Hermione couldn't help thinking that he might have only said that because Nicholas Isaacs was half muggleborn.  She stared at the floor, uneasy.


	6. What's in a Name?

Hermione left before Draco could, purposely avoiding him.  She made her way up to the Gryffindor common room.  The Fat Lady was already open and a redhead emerged from the hole as Hermione approached it.  "Hey!  So are you Head Girl?" asked Ginny, looking up to Hermione.

"I will be," Hermione said in a very unexcited voice.

"What's wrong?" asked Ginny.

"Nothing," Hermione answered, already climbing into the common room.  "See you later."

"Yea, you too," called Ginny as the painting swung closed.  Ginny lowered her head and walked away slowly, feeling like Hermione had been keeping something from her that made Ginny' heart twinge.  She really liked Hermione.

"'Lo, Hermione," Ron shouted over the noise.  Hermione walked over to the table Harry and Ron were sitting in, completing a Potions essay.

"So," Pansy said as Draco advanced towards the Slytherin room.  He sighed, and then turned to look at her.

"Why do you keeping 'so'ing me?"

Pansy looked bitterly at him as she came towards the stretch of bare wall.  "I'm not deaf, you know?  I heard you two in the hall.  So you _are_ Head Boy."

"I will be," he corrected.

"I hate that Mudblood," she warned.  Pansy turned to the wall.  "Righteous."  The wall moved aside, revealing the common room behind it.

Draco was studying her, looking scornful.  As he made to enter, she grabbed one of his arms, blocking him.  "What?"

She looked up into his eyes, making sure not to move as she said, "Watch out for her.  I don't trust her one bit."

"Stop over reacting," he sneered, pushing her arm off him.

"What's the matter, Hermione?" asked Ron, noticing her look.  "I mean, you'll be Head Girl!"

"And Malfoy is Head Boy."

"What?" they said together again, Harry and Ron.

"James declined.  He doesn't want the pressure.  By the way he was talking you'd think he was a Hufflepuff," she sighed.  "I mean really, he just declined the best award in the school!"

"It's alright," said Ron, looking from Hermione to Harry and trying to conjure up a reason why it was alright.  "You'll have to work with him a lot, but that is it."

"It'll be alright," Hermione said decidedly.  She had lost a lot of her drive since everything had become so complicated.

"You're right, it will be," Harry encouraged her.

The next Saturday morning, she was walking to Hagrid's when she noticed something from the greenhouses.  The doors were left open, something very unusual.  She looked at them and remembered Neville's detention, which he had served the night before.  "He must have left them open," she sighed, walking over to them.  As she closed them, she noticed that someone was in another greenhouse.  Someone with white-blond hair and green Quidditch robes.  Her mind darted back to the 'Amare' spell.   'I'm only frazzled because I haven't had a snog in a while.'  Her mind went back to Victor, and she shut her eyes.  She barely thought of Victor anymore.  Her mind moved around her memoriews…when Malfoy has slammed her against the castle, she couldn't breath.  She forgot about the differences between boys and girls, about the difference in strength.

She shivered, unconsciously, and then looked up.  Draco had gone.  'Where did he go?' she asked herself.

"Granger," he called.  She turned, and he was standing behind her.  She couldn't tell how he was feeling since he was pretty good and masking his emotions.  "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same question to you."

"I was collecting ingredients for Professor Snape," he said, still emotionless.

"I was closing the doors."  He looked suspiciously at her.  "I was," she said defiantly.

"Fine."  He turned to leave and Hermione grabbed his arm.  He turned, looking back at her with a deadly stare.  She hesitated, still quiet afraid of men, but said, "I want to talk to you."

"Well are you going to?" he taunted when she didn't say anything.

Yes.  About that time near the lake-"

He laughed suddenly.  "I forgot about that."  He pulled his arm from Hermione and turned to leave.

"No," she blurted out.

"Instinct," he said casually, shrugging.  "That was all."

"No, Malfoy," she said again.

"What, Mu…" he stopped, and she stared at him, expecting to her 'Mudblood.'  "Granger," he ended, cooly.

"Well, alright fine.  Then we're fine?"

"We were never fine, nor ever will be."  He turned, and then looked back at her.  "Mudblood."


	7. In the Library

Hermione's bad mood did not improve.  Dumbledore has assigned the two to be working on the arrivals for the next year.  Apparently, Head Boy and Girl worked even before their year.

Hermione was forced to go to the library at night and check the list that they had been sent.  She held in her hand the piece of parchment with several names on it and a few last minute notes.  She and Draco had to run through the list, and double check with Ministry papers, that everything would be in order.

As she entered the room, a cold chill swept past her and she shivered.  Most the torches had been extinguished as it was getting late into the night, but two were still lit dimly.  Between the lights a pale boy with white-blond hair was sitting with his arms crossed and a very nasty look on his face.  "So you deiced to come," he said irritably.

"Sorry, I'm late," she said, trying to be civil.  She went over to the table and put her paper down, and saw that he had the Ministry papers.  "Let's get started."

"Can we?" he said sarcastically, grabbing the parchment and looking it over.  "I think I've done my part by arrving on time.  Here," he said, thrusting the papers at her.   "Have fun."

"Oh no you don't!" she shouted, standing up to meet him.  Her yell echoed around the library.

Draco looked around.  "Wake up the castle, will you?  Touchy muggle.  Fine."  He took the papers and gave her what seemed around half, but she knew he gave her more work.

"What's your game?"

"I just want to get this over with," he growled as he sat back down and started leafing for the first name.  He checked the papers together and then looked up at her.  "Well sit down."

"Don't talk to me like that."  But she did sit and started working too.  "So how are you?" she asked capriciously.

"Don't speak to me."

She looked over at him and snapped, "You could try to be a _little _more pleasant.  We have to work with each other all next year."

"I said," he looked furious, "Don't speak to me."

Hermione stopped.  What the hell was wrong with him?  Maybe he was just having a bad day.  As she wrote next to one of the names 'Cleared' she started thinking about why he might be so angry.  She sighed.  She guessed that just how he always was.  But she gave him another glance and started thinking.  'Maybe something's bothering him…'  "Will you-"

"Listen!" he said, looking up.  Then he saw her concerned face.  "What?" he asked, distracted.

"Is it so bad if we talk?" she asked.  "I mean, we're going to have to be at peace some time.  The whole next year, fighting and working with you.  It's too stressful."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he mocked her.  "I am inconvenient for your schedule?"

"Draco," she nagged.

"Did you call me 'Draco?'"

"Yea," she said, surprised.

"Ok," he said, seeming to have decided to hear her out.  "What is it?"

"I just wanted to talk; to say hello."  She looked up at him and waved.  "Hello!"

He looked thoughtfully at her.  A smile, not a smirk, started to dawn on his face.  But suddenly it was wiped away. "Get back to your work, Mudblood."

She pretended to work, as she dwelt on the hurt feeling dimly inside of her.  'Why is he so mean?'  She noticed his smile.  'Maybe he's embarassed…maybe he's mad that I kicked him when he kissed me.'  She blushed as she looked through her work.  She stared at the writing in front of her, not able to understand the letters as she thought hard.  'He scared me.  He _scares_ me.  He's so stupid.'  She dared another glance at him.

He was sitting opposite from her, writing very fast.  His silver-blond hair was slicked back as normal.  His eyes had a tint of orange from the fire.  She felt a hungry yearning as she stared at him, and the way he just…was.  "Draco," Hermione said after a while, and also after she had summoned up the courage to speak again.

"What," he snapped.

"Are you alright?"

"Have you been working at all?"  He stopped writing and looked up at her, interested but still a little heated.

"I don't know," Hermione said untruthfully.  She was still avoiding thoughts in her head.

"Stop being concerned and get to work.  Or don't.  Either way, it doesn't matter to me, I'm leaving when I'm done."

"I guess," she ventured, "That if I spend enough time with someone I start caring."

He paused, thinking, but then said, "Well, don't," and he returned to his task.

She lingered again, wondering if to push it, but she continued.  "I'm not like you."

"What?"

"I'm not detached from the world."

"Maybe it's a muggle thing."

"You always bring up the muggle issue whenever I start talking truthfully."

"Get off it."

"Draco," she said, troubled.  Then she realized she had nothing to say.  "That kiss-I-" slipped out of her.

Draco stared at her, his eyes wide.  He didn't like the way she was acting.  He didn't know how to react, and he hated engaging in something he didn't have control over.  "Just work," he sputtered.

"Why do you keep shying away from me!" growled Hermione, frustrated.  "This is hard enough for me as it is, and you keep avoiding it."

"Avoiding what?"

"Alright here it is," she said, still wondering why she was talking when she had no idea what she saying.  "You really scared me back at the lake.  Then the next day you acted as if nothing had happened which is just irresponsible, immature, and just-just _stupid_."  Draco opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione didn't pause.  "And now, we are Head Boy and Girl.  We will have to work together all next year.  I mean, we already _are_.  So let's just put everything aside and be neutral.  Not friends, but please, do we have to be enemies?"

"Yes," he finally answered.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want a truce.  You, Potty, and the Weasel all come as one big group pack of muggle-lovers, but in your case, muggles themselves.  I don't need your filth influencing me."

"Malfoy!"

"I'm not going to."

"Hey, I-"

"I will not!" he shouted in a crescendo.

There was an awkward pause.  "Alright," she snapped.  "Fine!"

They continued working in silence until an hour later when they had finished.  As soon as he left, Hermione strode over to a book shelf and pulled out a book she had spotted a month ago called 'The Love of Arithmancy.'  She pulled it out of where it was, and wished Madame Pince was here.  She had been trying to check the book out for ages, but people kept taking it.  She noticed someone behind her and tried to turn, but the person turned her around themselves.  The lips pressed down on her again and this time, she did not shy away.  She threw her arms around his neck as she felt his tongue enter her mouth.  He picked her up so that she was sitting in his hands and then sat her down on the window sill as they continued to grope each other, Hermione's hands holding his head close to her as they continued to wrestle tongues.  She had no idea on what was going on and had tiny glimpses of half formed thoughts, but ignored them.  She bit her lip excitedly, a thrilled grin on her face as he started to kiss her neck in little suckinglings as his hand caressed the back of her head.  She squealed and arched up to him.

And then suddenly they heard the library door open.  She gasped despite her lack of breath and Malfoy spun around.  "Hello?" said a boy's voice from the door.  It sounded horribly familiar.

Hermione hopped off the window sill and ran out of the alcove of shelves she and Draco had been in.  "Ron?" she said, breathless.

"What are you doing?" he asked.  "Are you done?"

Hermione gave a fleeting look sideways, taking in that Draco was leaning against one shelf so that Ron couldn't see him and seemed not to be coming out.  "Yes," she said, walking over to her papers and organizing them.  "I'll just be a minute."  But Ron was going to wait for the minute, so Hermione, caught, chanced another look at Draco.

"Go," he mouthed.

"Yes, well."  Hermione picked up the papers and went to meet Ron who stared at her.

"What's up?" he asked her.

"Nothing," she said, her voice higher than usual.  Her head was pounding and she seemed to be beginning to think. 'Oh, my God, what am I doing?'


	8. A Night of Betrayal

Hermione was anxious and jittery all night, resulting in horrible sleep.  Her two best friends could hardly help but notice her increase in strange behavior.  She scarcely talked all night as they tried to chat with her in the common room, and she didn't seem to be able to think right, or at all.  They kept asking her something and she wouldn't answer.  Rather, she'd be staring at a mark on the ground with her mouth slightly open.  When they forced her to talk she would mumble vaguely, "What?  Yesss," or try a poor excuse for her behavior like, "Lots to think about.  I mean exams, I mean…wait, yeah, exams."  If she didn't look stupid enough, her manner made up for it.  "Got to go," she murmured as she had suddenly decided to go to bed.  "Lots to do, I mean sleep.  _Sleep_."

"Alright," yawned Ron as she made her way up her way up the stairs.  She bumped into a fifth year, apologized hazily, and suddenly bolted for her room.  After she had shut her door and Harry and Ron had stopped staring curiously, Ron turned to Harry.  "What's gotten into her?" he said quizzically.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, also sounding distant.

"I mean, I've never seen her so-I dunno-dumb."  Harry tutted; he had picked up Hermione's habit.  "I know," Ron said exasperatedly. "But, come on, Harry you saw her.  Did she say a word-one word-of sense?"

"No…she didn't."

Hermione lay in her bed, her legs pushed together more than normal, with her hands in a grasp in front of her.  She was staring at the four-poster above her, with a troubled look on her face.  It had been an hour since she had lain down on her bed.  Still, she had yawned once.  She let out a sigh and Lavender stirred, but did not wake.

'Ok,' she thought to herself.  'Let's just organize everything.'  She was trying to arrange her thoughts and renourish her mind.  'Ok.  I fancy Malfoy.'  She winced at her confession.  'But I can get over that.  I can eliminate _that_, I can control _that._  It's the incident that I can't erase.'  She screwed up her face trying hard to suddenly discover a brilliant plan, but nothing happened.  'I have to find him alone…dammit, why can't Crabbe and Goyle ever go off by themselves?  Head Boy!  I can get him on Head Boy/Girl business.'  She practiced in her mind.  'Malfoy?  I need to speak to you about Dumbledore's orders.'  The setting in her mind changed.  'Malfoy, I just want to say that last night was completely not me.  Look, let's just forget it, ok?  We both know it was nothing.'  And then she thought, 'Don't we?'  Her eyes brimmed with tears.  She felt so ashamed, what if Harry or Ron found out?  'They'd hate me.  Even I hate me.'  She slowly realized that she wasn't ashamed of fancying Malfoy in and of itself.  It wasn't that in particular that made her feel suppressed under guilt.  It was that she liked Malfoy, when it was _so clear_ she shouldn't.  Harry and Ron.  They would risk their lives for her…and here she was, 'Fraternizing with the enemy…again.' But this time it wasn't just school pride in their way, or that Victor Krum had been competing against Harry.  But it was Malfoy this time.  Draco Malfoy, their worst enemy.  Not to mention, the darkest more evil hater of muggleborns.

In the Slytherin common room, a few first years were talking tiredly as sixth years went up to bed.  A blond boy with pale skin entered the room, and looked around.  He made his way up the stairs, and reached for a door.  A hand beat him to it, and he looked sideways and Pansy Parkinson.

"What do you want," he snapped, ill-temperedly.

She had a weird grin on her face.  She took his hand and slinked it around it his waist as she leaned up to kiss him.  He didn't jerk back, merely tolerating her.  Pansy moved her other arm around his neck and teased him with her tongue.  His eyes closed, automatically.  His arm moved to the small of her back as she continued to kiss him.  She ran her hand up his chest slowly, where it also curled around his neck to join her other hand.  She giggled charmingly as his hand moved to her chest.  After pressing her tongue deep into him, she drew away, smiling in a satisfied way as he eyes blinked open and he looked slightly dazed.  She walked away, using a sort of flirty, voluptuous kind of stride, slinking her hips about.


	9. Trying to Fix It

"What's up, Pansy?" asked Tifa, a member of Pansy's gang.  Pansy smiled guiltily and her friends crowded around her, longing for some snooping.  "What?  What?" nagged Tifa.  Pansy opened her mouth, but at the moment Draco Malfoy sat down on the other side of the Slytherin table.  The girls noticed how Pansy chanced a sideways glimpse at him while still remaining discrete and facing forwards.  They giggled and crowded closer.  "Tried to pass a move on Draco?"

"Well-" she started.

Goyle's loud voice interrupted her.  "'Lo. What were you doing last night?"

"Nothing."  Draco's eyes fell on the group of girls that were watching who quickly looked away, pretending to talk badly.  His eyes narrowed.  "Nothing of value, anyways."  He snapped rudely at them and added, "Mind your own business, you lot."

One of them said jokingly, "It is our business."

Draco scoffed.  He tugged on Crabbe's collar so that his friend's head now blocked the view between the two groups.  "What?" Crabbe said thickly, tilted obediently.

"Nothing," he growled, pulling some food towards him.  No matter how dim Crabbe and Goyle were, they knew enough to recognize Draco's bad mood and decided to eat quietly, Crabbe had already forgotten why he was bent uncomfortably.

Pansy was wondering why Draco hadn't mentioned last night, but she guessed there was nothing to mention.  She'd corner him the halls, solidifying her possession of him.  'It'll work.'  She knew he was very easy to manipulate him if she worked her feminine charm.  It was almost as good as having a Head Girl badge, but she didn't have to do any of work for it.  Anyways, she still had her lingering appetite for him.  Ever since Pansy matured she loved the conquest of men, Malfoy in particular.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were on their way to be early for Potions, their first class of the day, when Malfoy looked at his things and turned around.  A parchment, his Transfiguration homework, lay a few feet away from them.  Crabbe and Goyle turned, finally noticing Malfoy was no longer walking with them.  "Well," he gestured with a book still tucked in his hand.  "Go get it."  Goyle made to go towards it, but another one of Malfoy's papers flew out of his books.  His narrowed his eyes, scanning the hall.  "Go, you two," he said ill-temperedly.

"Wha'?" asked Crabbe, confused.

"Just go," he spat, walking towards his homework.  They left, but as Draco approached his paper and knelt to get it, it slid some more on the floor.  "Alright," he said angrily to the apparently empty hallway.  "Have it."  He turned to walk away when the paper hit him the back of the head.  He spun around, glaring at his invisible enemy.  Then, Pansy emerged from a side door with her wand out.  "Pansy," he snarled.  "What the hell are you doing?"

"Just playing," she giggled, teasing him.

"Go fuck off."  Malfoy picked up his papers.  Pansy grinned, a comeback emerging out her lips but Malfoy interrupted her.  "And let it be anyone but me."

"Aw, that's not nice, Draco."  She smirked, sharing a very strong resemblance to Malfoy's style for a second.

"Look-If you're bored go shag a Ravenclaw.  Leave me alone."  Just as he finished the word 'Ravenclaw' the doors to the Great Hall had opened.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione had pushed threw the doors and stopped, seeing Malfoy and Pansy talking.  Draco quickly stopped and Pansy glanced over, seeing an opportunity to impress Malfoy.  She looked over them and decided to pick on the only girl.

"Oh, look, if it isn't the Mudblood."

"Bugger off," snapped Ron.

"Shut up, Weasely," she snapped.  "So, where is the muggle-trio off to now?"

Hermione was looking at Draco who stared back.  Hermione looked apprehensive, Draco emotionless.

Pansy looked from the two of them.  "What?" she squawked.

"I'm off," Draco said, not wanting to talk to anyone there.

"What?" Pansy repeated, still sounding like bird.

"Come on, lets go," Harry said as he slightly pushed Hermione and Ron away.  Anyways, they had been holding up second years.

"Amare…"

"What?"

"…"

"What? Hermione!"

"What? Huh?"

Hermione jutted out of her trance.  She looked around and then slowly up at Professor McGonagall who was standing over her with a disappointed look on her face.  Her two best friends were staring at her in the same look of letdown.  "Ms. Granger," sighed Professor McGonagall. "Are you finding it difficult to pay attention to this lesson?"

"No.  I just, I just-"

"_Ten_ points from Gryffindor.  Now," McGonagall said, looking back at the class.  "How to turn your partners into raccoons..."

At the end of the lesson, Hermione swung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door with her friends, muttering discouragingly about her daze, when Professor McGonagall called, "Excuse me.  One moment, I think, Ms. Granger."

"Yes, Professor?" Hermione asked, forebodingly.

"I wanted to talk to you," her teacher said in a shaky voice.  "About your recent behavior.  Don't think I haven't noticed it.  You don't raise your hand anymore in class or listen."

"About that Professor-"

"Miss Granger," Professor said, in a moment of true concern.  Hermione stopped protesting.  "Whatever it is, fix it.  I know you; and I know you've worked hard for this honor."  There was no doubt she was talking about the Head Girl position.  "Please, don't through it all away."

Professor McGonagall walked out of the class before Hermione could say anything.  She stood there, mouth slightly open.  "Ok," she said to the silence.  "I'll fix this."


	10. When Fixed Things Go Wrong

Hermione walked out it the hall, her robes billowing behind her like Draco's did, but as her mind made the connection to the way Draco walked to hers, she cut it off.  She _would_ _not_ think about him!  She strode down the hallway, quickening her pace.  Her next class was History of Magic, with the Slytherins.  Students piled into the hallways, and she zigzagged through them.  Some people shot looks at her as she marched towards the classroom.

Finally, she got where she wanted to be and looked into a classroom.  Harry and Ron were inside and the waved her in.  She put up a finger to say 'One minute,' and pulled out of the classroom.  As she heard the shrill voice of a snobby Slytherin girl, she ducked behind a suit of armor and waited.

Pansy Parkinson walked by, chatting and giggling loudly.  Her friends were all gossiping and poking fun at anything they seemed fit.

Then Neville, Parvati, and Lavender walked by.  And then they came.  First the image of Crabbe loomed from the side of the suit of armor.  And then Goyle came quickly after him.  And almost hidden by the previous two, there was the smaller boy with platinum blond hair.  He was saying something funny and Crabbe and Goyle were laughing stupidly.  Hermione stepped out from behind the knight.

"Malfoy!" she called.

They turned, Malfoy the quickest and spotting her.  His eyes narrowed as they so often did.  "What do you want, Granger?"

So he was going to pretend like it didn't happen, again.  "I need to talk to you.  Dumbledore business," she added as Goyle made a stupid confused sound.

Malfoy looked from Hermione to his cronies and then said angrily, "Just go."  He walked towards Hermione, sighing angrily.  She was about to open a classroom to the side of her, when she heard voices.  "What it, Granger," he teased.  She snapped her fingers threateningly at him as she moved to another door, and this time it was free.  She opened it and gestured him in.  As he passed, "Don't be seem too eager, Granger.  I'm not going to snog you this time."

"Shut up," she hissed as she shut the door.  "Malfoy, I just needed to tell you that what little episode we may have had is over."  He opened his mouth but she just raised the level of her voice.  "I realize we'll work together a lot next year as Head Boy and Girl, but I've worked awfully hard for my badge and no Slytherin is going to take it away."

He smiled, and she wished she knew what he was thinking.

"So just to get all awkwardness out, I've made everything clear, alright?"

"Looks like you've thought of everything."  He sneered, "Run away, again.  Why don't you just kick me, too?"  His laugh grew irrationally.  "You're such a sad, pathetic excuse for a witch."

Hermione, who was already stressed to a breaking point with Malfoy, whipped out her wand.  She pointed at him and yelled, "Stupify!"

But however, that's only what she thought she yelled.  The words  that reached her ears were, "Amare!"

A blue light tangled with red shot at Malfoy as he stepped back.  But the spell hit him, full in the chest, and he was knocked to the ground, on his knees.

"Malfoy!" shrieked Hermione as she ran over to him, knelt, and tried to pull him up, but he sunk to the floor.  "Oh…no."  Hermione glanced around the room, looking for help.  "Malfoy!" she screamed again, shaking him.

He stirred, his eyes had a little red glow in the edges.  He blinked and looked up, and then at Hermione.  "Hermione," he said, balancing as he sat up.  "Hermione, I'm sorry."

"Oh, no.  No, we need to get you to the hospital wing."

"I'm fine," he shook her apology off.  He placed his hand on her arm, and she looked up at him, biting her lip nervously.  "Hermione, I'm so sorry."  His hands moved to her hips and he applied a little force to get her to lie down.

"NO!  No!"  He looked hurt and confused at her words as she threw him off.  "I want you to remember when you're back to normal that I didn't mean to do this."

"Anything…wait, what?" he asked, not understanding.

"Malfoy, let me take you to the hospital wing."

"Why?" he asked, hurt.  He leaned over to kiss her neck, but she jerked back and he looked at her, like waiting for her 'ok' signal.

"Malfoy!  Come with me to the hospital wing!"  Though he looked even more miffed, he agreed and she helped pull him up.  'Oh no,' she thought as she passed the History of Magic class.  'I'm missing another one.'  But she didn't think Professor Binns would notice if she was gone, and she didn't feel like interrupting his class.  So, leading Malfoy very awkwardly, she headed towards the hospital wing.  She felt his eyes on her and blushed deeply.  'He'll kill me,' she kept thinking, dreading when the spell would wear off.  Her heart filled with dread at the thought of what Madame Pomfrey would say…and then she remembered Love Charms were banned.  Of course all hexes were banned, but this one was of significance.  And mainly, to the gossip of the students.  Her eyes filled with tears as she prepared to open the door to the infirmary.

Draco gently grabbed her arm and she looked at him, his face was caring and fretful.  "I don't like to see you cry," he whispered.

"Then please," she said weakly. "Don't tell Madame Pomfrey about me."

He paused and then said, "Ok."  He gave a very light kiss on the mouth, just a brush of lips, before opening the door and walking inside.  It was so strange to know that all that devotion and compassion was just a spell.


	11. A Painting

As Hermione reached the Gryffindor common room, Ron ran up to her.  "Where were you, Hermione?" he panted, catching up to her from his run.

"Oh, Ron," she said tiredly.  "Go eat lunch.  I don't want you to skip a meal but I'm going to 'cause I'm feeling a bit off today."

"A bit off?" he asked, still out of breath.  "You didn't show up!"

"Er, yes, I know," she stuttered.  She decided on the truth.  "I hade to take Malfoy up to the hospital wing.

"What?  Why?"

Maybe not the whole truth.  "We, er, _I_ got a bit shirty.  I accidentally hexed him."

Ron laughed, which turned into a slight cough, and then he recomposed himself, breathing calmly now.  "Accidentally, eh, Hermione?  What'd ya hit him with?"

"Stunning spell," she lied, choosing the spell she had meant to say.

"Oh, no," Ron said, as an idea dawned on him.  "'Mione, what about your Head Girl Badge? I mean if Lucius got butted out the first time, he certainly won't be this time.  He's not going to stand by while a girl who cursed his son takes equal ranking to Draco."

"I know, Ron," she said exasperatedly.  "I don't want to think about it," she said in a nonchalant voice.  "Go eat lunch.  I need to think, or to rest."

"But, Hermione-"

"Go, Ron."

"You know, Hermione," Ron said, turned half way from her.  "You've been acting very funny lately."  Hermione fidgeted, not knowing what to do or say.  "It wouldn't have anything to do with the Head Boy would it?"

"What?" she spat, drawing away from him and looking livid.  "How could you?"

"How could I what?"

"Imply that I've got anything to do with Malfoy.  You think I'm letting him intimidate me?  I can handle myself, Ron!  Don't you go thinking I'm some damsel in distress.  I don't need you or Harry to help me.  I'm fine!"

She ran into the Gryffindor common room, crying, pushing past Seamus who had just opened it.

Hermione started out for the hospital wing very late in the night.  She wasn't sure if her Prefect badge would help her stay out of trouble, but it was the best thing she had.  Her thoughts lingered on the invisibility cloak in Harry's trunk, but she didn't think it would be wise to ask him for it as Ron had already suspected a link between Hermione and Draco.  She remembered his eyes as he entered the library that night, and how they flickered over to the niche made by shelves Hermione and Draco had been in.  She continued to try and to end this, and she continued to be pulled further in.  But this time they wouldn't be allowed to shout at each other, so close to Madame Pomfrey, and also he'd be in bed…'Oh,' she thought.  'Maybe this isn't such a good idea.'

But she pressed on, coming ever closer to the room where Draco would lay asleep.  As the door loomed into sight, a voice beckoned to her.

"What are you doing out?"

She swiveled around, stunned that someone else was out at this hour.  And then she saw him, Draco Malfoy, standing patiently by a painting of unicorn and a dragon, oddly placed together in the same picture.  "Draco…why aren't you in the hospital wing?"

"'Cause she let me out ten minutes after I went to her."

"Why?" Hermione asked suspiciously, and quiet nervously.

"'Cause there was nothing to do.  All she did was tell me Love Charms are not allowed."  He seemed very cool, too casual.  Not how he was when she cast the spell on him.  His drawl was back and he was leaning against the wall in an overly apathetic way, like his bored manner.

"So…you know it was a Love Charm.  You see, I-"

"Don't cover up, Granger," he mocked.  "I'm sure you meant to say something else," he joked sarcastically.

"I did!"

"Of course."  He was too calm, she didn't like it.

"So…"

He walked over to her, a few inches taller.  She noticed that.  "Love Charms are not allowed you know."

"Well, are you going to tell anyone?"

"That depends," he continued in his tease.  "Maybe I'm still under its spell."

Hermione opened and closed her mouth, changing her and being extremely upset, but not wanting to provoke him.

"Calm down," he said exasperatedly, slinking a hand around her waist.  Her mouth opened in protest but she discovered she couldn't speak as he titled his head down to hers, being discrete and brushing his lips over hers.  Her lip trembled in anticipation, but he didn't move to kiss her.  He inclined his head even lower to her neck and persisted to vex her by not fully kissing her and slightly touching her skin.

She quivered in his arms.  She felt a tickling sensation all near the part of her neck Malfoy chose to caress.  "No," she said, suddenly changing emotion and trying to push him off her.  He only moved up to look her eye to eye.  She stared back, his cold glare was tauntingly seductive.  "The spell, Malfoy-"

"It wore off five hours ago," he said slowly, pointedly staring at her.

"No."  She refused to give up her excuse.  She wanted to leave, but she didn't realize that she didn't know her reason for wanting to leave.  Confusion that she had never felt in her entire life was consuming her mind.  Did she want to leave because of Harry and Ron?  Did she have her own reasons, understandably?  Or did she really want to leave at all?  "It must still…it must be affecting you."

Draco paused, seeming calmer than her.  He kissed her, and she felt him inside of her again.  And as he drew away a slight sound of objection escaped from her lips.  "Alright."  He turned, ready to leave her, when they both heard it. Footsteps.  And then…

Nothing happened.  Draco looked around, puzzled.  Hermione too was searching the halls with her eyes.  After a moment, Draco continued in his walk.  After his footsteps had died away, Hermione started for her own room.  But someone grabbed her from behind, making her give a small squeal of surprise, but she managed to stop herself from screaming.

Ron was holding her arm, the invisibly cloak under his other.

"Ron!" she gasped.  "How-How long were you here?"

"Only just now," he answered suspiciously.  "Harry and I were looking for you, they said you weren't in your dormitory.  Hermione, what are you doing?"

"What?'

"Why were here, with Malfoy?"

She looked into his eyes, he didn't seem to know.  "Er, I was…I was worried about the whole hexing ordeal, so I came up to ask him to keep it quiet."

Ron stayed silent for a few seconds, looking into her eyes.  "We're your best friends, Hermione.  You know you can tell us anything."

"Of course I do!" she snapped crossly.  But then she softened, "And I do.  I tell you everything."  She turned to leave.

"Er, Hermione."

"What, Ron?"

"I thought you might want to travel back in this."  He pulled out the cloak.

"Oh, of course," she mumbled, scurrying back to him.


	12. A Little Advice

Suggested listening: Tifa's Theme aka Tifa Theme

After that, Draco had shown Hermione no implication that he was interested in her.  In fact, it was like it never even happened.  Hermione walked out into the grounds for a Care of Magical Creatures class, which she also had with the Slytherins, and bumped into Draco.  "Watch it," he said, dodging around her.  She stared, watching his retreating back.  After he had left the corridor outside the hospital wing, he hadn't said more than a few words to her.  She looked at him in classes, but he never looked back at her.  She would watch him eating in the great hall, but he never shot her a glance.  He had even gone back to insulting her and her friends.  But, as she noticed, he hadn't called her 'Mudblood' since.

"Come on, Hermione," called Harry.  Hermione jumped back into the present and ran over to her friends.

"Sorry," she muttered as she stood by them, waiting for their teacher to come out.

In their Care of Magical Creatures class was not hands-on that time, as they were learning the history of the Snitch.  "The snitch is a small, gol'en bird that became extinct as the game Quidditch grew in popularity.  A few ha' been rumored to be left, but none ha' been spotted officially," Hagrid informed them.  A few somewhat interesting facts later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked over to the great hall for lunch.

"I'm starving," Ron groaned, his hand on his stomach.

"So am I," Harry agreed.

Ron asked, "What about you, Hermione," as he looked over at her, still with his pained look on his hungry face.

"Yea, me too."

"So, you two, are you going to work on the Potions project?" Ron asked.

"Oh, dammit, I forgot about that," Harry sighed.

"I did too.  But I think I'll work on it tonight, wadya say?"  Ron was still pushing conversation.

"Yeah, ok.  I can't tomorrow, I have Quidditch practice."

"What about you, Hermione?"

"Me too."

"What?" Hermione looked over at Ron, slightly confused.  "Want to do your make your potion tonight, for Snape?" Ron repeated, annoyed.

"Oh.  I've already done it."

Ron sighed irritably and Hermione stared nervously at the ground in front of her.  As they sat down, Hermione saw Draco across the hall.  She noticed Pansy sitting next to him, slithering her arm around his neck sneakily.  She turned to her porridge.  She didn't care.  She couldn't understand why her stomach suddenly ached.  She figured she was hungry too and started eating, her eyes feeling rather tired.

Ron was opening his mouth; he was talking.  She couldn't understand him as her brain was working mind-numbingly slow again.  She stared at her food stupidly.

"You're supposed to eat it," said Harry after he noticed she was just looking at it with a befuddled expression.

Hermione didn't hear him.  She looked up and saw Pansy playfully fool around with his ear.  Hermione's eyes burned as she returned her glance to her food.  Her stomach felt more twisted.  'I'm not hungry," she said, feeling like she would throw up.  She suddenly got up, earning stares from Ron and Harry, and strolled over to the doors and pushed them open.  As they closed she eased into a jog before breaking out into a run.  As she rushed to her common room, the insanity of it all brought her to tears and she was fully sobbing as she blubbered, "Unicorn horn," to the Fat Lady.  In the abandoned room, she collapsed on the sofa moments later, clutching its edges.

"Hermione" a boy said softly after a few moments.  Her head jerked up, she hadn't realized someone had walked in.  But it wasn't Malfoy like she thought, it was Ron.  He sat down on the edge of her bed and gave her a heavy-hearted look.  "Why won't you talk to me?" he finally asked her.

"Huh?"

"Has Malfoy done something?"

"No, why?!"  Her words were brash and not well chosen.  She corrected, "Nothing's happened.   Stop suggesting that."

"Fine," he said reluctantly. "Then what's wrong with you?"

"I've just been very emotional," Hermione said in a weak voice.  "You should know that women can be very emotional."  Ron was uncomfortable, she could tell.  "I've just been so, gloomy lately, I'll get over it.  Now please, I want to sleep."  She lowered her head on her pillow and listened as Ron gave an angry sigh as he got up and left, shutting the Fat Lady sharply.  Her eyes closed as the door snapped shut.  She hated lying to him.  She hated herself, and she cursed the last few days.  She had intended on making another plan in her mind, but her mind drifted to the way Draco had held her close in the library as she feel asleep with a faraway smile on her disarrayed face.  She hummed into her pillow and stretched her arms as her thoughts sleepily recalled when he looked at her by the lakeside.  She was too tired to recognize that she shouldn't be thinking about these things, and plus she was too exhausted to care.

Hermione woke to someone saying in a sharp voice, "Wake up, Miss Granger."

"Hmmm?" Hermione groaned.  She looked up and jumped at the sight of who was standing over her.  It was Professor McGonagall.  "Professor!" she gasped.  "I'm-I'm-"

"You're missing dinner," her teacher pointed out.  "You missed your afternoon classes, Hermione" she said with no pause, "Is there something you wish to speak to me about?"

"I-I…I'm sorry, Professor.  It won't happen again."

"Don't say that," McGonagall waved, very unlike herself.  "That will just add pressure.  Miss Granger, I'm quite worried."

"Oh, you don't need to be," Hermione said quickly, sitting up.  "I've just been a bit frayed."

"It's more that, I can tell.  Luckily, Dumbledore isn't listening to Mr. Malfoy."

"Malfoy?  Malfoy's talking to Dumbledore?"

"_Lucius_ Malfoy is," Professor McGonagall said, her eyes lingering on Hermione's face, skeptically.  "Miss Granger, I don't play favorites.  _But if I did_, I think we both know who would be my first choice."  Hermione felt a huge surge of shame at disappointing McGonagall.  Her face burned red.  "If you continue to slip you could loose your badge.  Just forget about today's classes and do everything you need done.  Then you can start tomorrow fresh and renewed.  You're still in the number one spot, just barely."

"Yes, of course, Professor," Hermione piped in.  But what was her determination worth?  She seemed to be loosing control, the control she had had all her life.

"Well, I think I'll be getting back to dinner…I'll see you in class tomorrow, on time."


	13. Back in the Library

Soon, kids were coming back from dinner. Hermione could hear their voices softly invading her dormitory as she lay on her bed. She wiped her eyes and buried her head in her hands with a heavy sigh. She had been such a baby. Crying? She just hoped Malfoy hadn't been able to tell.

'What do I care what he thinks?' she asked herself. 'I don't care at all-that's what.' He didn't matter, that was that.

And still, the pain in her stomach was evident. She ignored it as she stood up, her head swimming with a headache. She reached for her bedside stand, and her hand hovered above it. She didn't know for what she had reached. Her hand went back to her side and she paced towards the door, one hand on her head and the other gripping the doorknob for support. She gave a subdued groan of pain. After the brief rush of blood to the head left her, she turned the knob and walked down the stairs into the common room. Parvati and Lavender saw her as Hermione fell into a chair, exhausted. They whispered something to each other, and Hermione ignored them. Ron or Harry were no where to be seen.

A frightened first year entered the room and doddered over to Hermione. "Excuse me," he said nervously. Hermione looked up at him and stopped rubbing her forehead, influencing him to continue. "Professor McGonagall asked to tell you…" the student paused, trying to remember what he was supposed to say. Hermione felt uneasy, remembering how strange distressed McGonagall must feel towards her. "Er…I think you're supposed to go to the library."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Yes, the library; that was it. Something about Head Girl or something."

"Hmmm," Hermione frowned. "I'm not even Head Girl yet," she complained. Her head worsened at the thought of Draco.

The student who was already moving back shrugged, clearly not wanting to talk to her anymore.

So Hermione set off for the library apprehensively. On her way, her head cleared slightly. As she entered she saw that the Ravenclaw Head Girl and Gryffindor Head Boy were there. Next to the boy was Malfoy. There were no teachers.

"Hello, Hermione," the Gryffindor, Adam, said kindly.

Hermione nodded, acknowledgingly. The Ravenclaw, Maude, spoke up. "Ok, now that we're all here: We have been told to give you two a little briefing on being Head Boy and Head Girl. Nothing much, just to get it over with. We had to hear this too. Ok, where to start?"

"Duties," offered Adam.

"Yes, yes, I think that's right. Please sit, Hermione," Maude said politely. Hermione complied indifferently. There were four seats at the table. Hermione sat farthest away from Malfoy as Adam and Maude stood, facing the Slytherin and the Gryffindor. "All the students look up to you. So, of course, set a good example. Follow every rule and try to get ace all your classes. It's all right if you don't get _top_ marks but is, er, frowned upon. Also, you should receive plenty of N.E.W.T.s. Ok, I think that covers the grade section?"

"Yeah. Now, you'll need to work with prefects a lot."

Hermione was listening intently, but she felt a stare flash past her. Her heart sudden skipped and her face felt heated, she hoped she wasn't blushing. She tried to compose herself.

The two kept talking about all the expectations of Head Girl and Head Boy. Hermione's thoughts lingered on the words, "You two should have a close working relationship. Specially since you're from such different houses, you know, a sort of friendship would help.' Maude had quickly said after that, "We're not telling you to be friends! Just, er, be diplomatic."

After an hour of the talk that 'nothing much,' Adam looked at his watch. "Alright, come on Maude. We need to brief the prefects on the ball."

"Ball?" asked Malfoy.

"Yea. You two don't need to come, you won't be helping to plan it. There'll be a Christmas ball again this year as a raise in spirits after all the…unpleasantness. Maude and I are going to help the prefects set a theme and organize everything."

"It's just going to be really Christmassy," Maude said, taking some papers off the table. "Snow and stuff. Just before we go, I need to give you these." She picked up some pieces of parchment that had been lying latently. Just write 'cleared after you've checked for consistency with the numbers. We'll find you the next time we need to meet, just give us the papers then. Goodnight for now."

"Goodnight," Adam yawned. "Good first meeting." Maude and Adam left, closing the door. Behind them two students were sitting by table, looking dejected. The Slytherin had his arms crossed and a sour look on his face, and the Gryffindor was looking nervous, twisting her hand under the table and trying to summon the courage to talk.

Yet there was still silence.

"Well?" prompted Malfoy.

"Oh, shut up," Hermione snapped.

He gave a derisive laugh. She turned to glare at him. At least now the ice had been broken. "What, Mudblood?"

"Start working!"

"Don't tell me to work!" he snapped back at her. "You do it."

"Don't order me around!" She didn't realize how heated their bickering was until it dawned on her than she was near shouting. She remembered, too, how much their quarrel was like before.

"Look, Mudblood," growled Malfoy. "I'm certainly not doing the work. I did it all last time and you're the goody-goody. You go do it."

"Oh, go…" she searched for an insult. Malfoy got up, ready to leave, taking advantage of her command 'go'. Hermione shot up. "Don't you go! You have work to do." He ignored her and started to leave, she grabbed his arm.

"Don't you grab me!" he shook her off.

"You can't do this," Hermione said officially, sounding like her old, pompous self. "You can't just shove it all on me!"

"Why not?" He started to leave again, and again, she grabbed his arm. He shook her off and in turn gripped both her wrists, staring her down. She struggled to pull away, but she couldn't.

"I told you, don't grab me." Hermione muttered in pain. He let her go, a dangerous look in his eyes. Hermione was out of breath since she was easily shaken. He had a steely look and she rubbed her wrist, looking into Malfoy's eyes. They seemed to have a tint of regret in them. He opened his mouth and almost said 'sorry' but he didn't. His mouth shut and he turned from her, the light reflecting off his eyes more clearly for some reason.

"Wait, Malfoy," Hermione said, her voice much softer than before.

"What?" Draco said sharply, anger surging, misdirected, through his voice.

"I-The work."

He scoffed in a expected sortof way. With that, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door.

Hermione turned, to the couch in the library, and sat slowly on it, her face expressionless. A sloppy tear tipped out of the corner of her eye but it was meaningless, just the result from weariness and disappointment. She didn't hear the door open.

Feeling the presence of someone in front of her, she slowly looked up as a feeling of hope welded itself in her chest. Malfoy was back and standing over her, an unreadable expression on his face.

His hand steadily pulled her up with his hand under her arm. She rose automatically, slowly, composedly, and never breaking eye contact. He slipped a hand behind her head and leaned down to kiss her. One of his hands was sliding up the side of her waist and outlining her to her shoulder. When his hand had reached there he applied soft pressure and she found herself going back to the couch. She fell sideways, lying down. He put his knees on either side of her hips, straddling her. Balanced, he continued to kiss her, gradually going down to her neck. She arched her back, reacting to his attention. He slipped his hand into the collar of her shirt and undid a button from behind it. Then he explored her shoulders and collar bone with both hands, as they returned to kissing each other, Hermione's mouth weak from exhaustion. Thoughts were running threw her head but she wasn't able to understand any of them, too attentive to the matter at hand. "Oh!" she gasped, and then bit her lip to shut up. Malfoy continued to slowly move downwards from the neck, undoing more buttons. One hand of Hermione's coiled itself around his neck while the other tangled its fingers in his hair.

There was a loud noise from outside.

They froze.

"Ow!" a voice shouted from outside.

Malfoy's cold lips rose from her warm chest.

"You git! Are you alright?"

"I just hit my toe on this stupid knight." There was a swift sound of a shoe meeting metal. "OW!"

"Idiot!" laughed the other voice.

There were two boys outside, and they were opening the library door.

Malfoy leapt off Hermione and she scrambled to stand up, her legs moving slowly in protest. As Draco took two swift steps towards the door, Harry and Ron entered. They saw him stride past them and out the library without a word and a mere cold glance which seemed to be hiding peculiarity. Hermione was standing near a couch looking frayed and shocked. Her face was had more energy than most.

She didn't recognize them for a fleeting second. "Harry! Ron!"

"What is it, Hermione?" Harry asked, concerned. Ron was looking from the door where Draco left to Hermione, suspiciously.

"Nothing. The Head Boy and Girl gave us a little chat here," she gesture over-enthusiastically at the couch and chairs area to explain why she was there. "And then Malfoy and I had fill out some papers. But we didn't get to it, they just left a few moments ago."

"We didn't see them," Ron said inquiringly.

"What? Really? Oh, that's odd they just left a few moments ago," Hermione said, overacting and seeming really perplexed. "No, that's _really_ odd because they just left a few moments ago."

"You ok, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine!" she said, almost sounding offended. "Let's go!"

She marched over to the door before Harry could remind her, "Aren't you going to take those papers with you?"

She doubled back and snatched them up. "Why are you looking at me like that? Let's go!"


	14. Same Ol' Place

Actually I messed up


	15. Same Ol' Place bad version

            "Hermione, you look…frayed," Harry commented.  Hermione was walking extremely fast, hoping that they wouldn't notice her shirt buttons.  She was keen on bursting up to her room, and Harry and Ron had to take longer strides to match her speed, even if their legs were much longer than hers.  "Are you alright?"  Ron looked like he was biting his tongue, much like Harry's aunt, Petunia, had done when she was trying very hard not to yell at Harry.

            Hermione's heart was beating very fast.  Her face was flushed and her brain wasn't working properly.

            What had she been doing?  Did she actually plan to…Hermione's thoughts trailed off, as she was trying to ignore an issue pounding into her mind.  _Again, her eyes were tearing.  She cursed herself for being so vulnerable.  She had never cried so much in years, not since she had been stressed in third year, but even then she wasn't sure if she cried this much.  Everything was changing too fast, Malfoy, plus Professor McGonagall had decided to go crazy on her.  No, no.  Life was certainly not pleasant for her._

            "Hermione?" Harry asked again as she said nothing.

            "Oh, Harry.  Um, yes, I'm frayed.  Ok?"  She tried considerably to calm down.  It worked, somewhat.  "There's a Christmas ball, something to 'raise spirits.'  I think its because everyone is becoming worried about You-Know-Who.  I just don't know.  Nor do I care, now I you two don't mind, I want to get some sleep."  She thought she heard Ron mumble something and she turned, sincerely, at him.  "What?"

            "What?" Ron said, feigning that he had not said anything.

            "You said something," Hermione said quizzically, now they had reached the Fat Lady.

            "I have nothing to say to you," Ron said curtly.  "Unicorn horn," he commanded as the Fat Lady swung open.

            "Ron," called Harry, a bit taken aback,

            "Ron!" echoed Hermione, staring after him.

            "I'll be in our dormitory, Harry," Ron said, ignoring Hermione.  Ron climbed up the stairs and they heard the door shut.  Hermione sighed, miserably, and trying to suppress her tears.

            'At least,' she thought to herself.  'I'm getting better and not crying.  All I need was practice.'  She turned and buried her face in Harry's shoulder.

            To do things the Hermione way is to approach something like it was homework.  Hermione was determined to resolve this situation, to gain back control.  She thought madly and asked herself questions like, 'Why?!  Why am I obsessed with him?'

            And that question, and its prompted answers, lead her to something very unlike herself.

            At dinner one night she waited till the hall was almost empty, and everyone who had been informed off the upcoming ball had gone off excitedly to their common rooms to discuss the festive.

            Hermione glanced around, steeling herself to do something she'd never done before.  She ambled over to the Slytherin table and spoke up.  "Oi!"  Crabbe's and Goyle's head popped up, as they had stayed behind to stuff themselves with the remaining deserts.

            "Wha?" asked Goyle after a pause.

            "Where's Malfoy?"  They looked at her blankly. "Your trainer?  Where is her?"  She sighed inwardly, she shouldn't have tried sarcasm on them, it confused them more.  "Just say where Malfoy is."

            "Library," Crabbe said before Goyle could stop him.

            "Shut your gob," he warned, much too late.

            "Excellent," grinned Hermione, turning and marching out of the Great Hall.

            She entered the library and, complying with her deepest wishes, it was deserted.  Only one torch remained lit and one person remained there.  She grinned wickedly as her eyes fell on him, he was still near the couch, reading a book.  She crept up, unheard, from behind him.  She read 'Lost' on the cover of a leather band, black book.  He looked up at the wall, sensing someone behind him, shut the book.  He turned his head and he spotted her, but she didn't look like her normal self.  She was walking more confidentially, and brashly.  Plus, she had a strange smirk on her face.

            "What do you want?" he asked, but she paid him no attention.  She pushed the book out of his hand as her arms flew around his neck, bringing his head down so she could kiss him.  Instinctively, Draco kissed back and his eyes shut like hers, but then they flew open.  He pulled her off of him, though she still had her mysterious grin.  "What are you doing?"

            "What you want," she said enticing.

            "What?"

            "I'm doing what you want; what I want."

            She gave him a rough kiss before forcefully moving him towards the couch where she pushed him down so he was sitting, looking up at her with excited eyes.  She swung a leg next to one of his and straddled herself over him.  Her hands rubbed his chest in a circular motion and, much to his dismay, his eyes fluttered closed.  She leaned towards his head, making her pick herself up a bit.  He groaned involuntarily.  She whispered, "Like it, Slytherin?"  Then she sat back down on him and kissed him, forcing her tongue down his throat.  He struggled a little against her, trying to push her off slightly.

            "What are you doing?" he asked breathlessly.

            "Mmm," she smiled.  "We need to get this over with."  Her face was close to his.  "I have to stop thinking about you."

            His eyes locked on her, confusion in their depths.  But she continued with her plan.  He felt her hands rise up to his neck from under his shirt, feeling his fit form.  She inclined to trail her tongue down his neck.  He was striving with every fiber of his being to push her off of him, but his arms were like lead and his body refused to listen to his mind.

            "You don't like me do you?" he asked randomly.

            "Nope," she said, nonchalant.  She was making small rocking motions on him.

            His hands gripped her waist as she kept rocking on him.  "Oh…God," he breathed.  He paused, still frozen by instinct, but then, he gradually was successful in applying enough pressure to her stomach to push her back.  She looked at him, frustratedly.  "What's your game?"

            "Get off me," he grunted, able to pull himself away from the couch and he retreated, backing up into a shelf, staring at her, taken aback.

            "You are," Hermione growled, "Sooo annoying."

            "Then leave me be," he pleaded, trying to catch his breath.

            "No!  You're the one who dragged me into this.  And now," she got up, walking seductively over to him and placing one of her hands on his shoulder.  "I want you.  Not _you," she said resentfully.  "Just…your body."  She didn't think this would affect him as she was sure he didn't like her one bit, so she wrapped one arm around him and kissed him, pushing him into the shelves._

            "No, no," he protested, though he was kissing back.  "Leave me alone."

            "No," she giggled.  Both her hands seized his belt, and his normally narrow eyes widened despite themselves.  Draco was no stranger to sex, but somehow he didn't feel as confident with her.  One of her hands lowered to his zip, and he tried to push her off again.

            "Oh, stop it."  She pulled him back and breathed heavily into his ear and he shuddered, her luring manner was seducing him quickly.  It was like trying not to laugh.  His mind was clearly against it, but his body didn't seem to be able to listen, and he kept having weaker moments than others, flying back and forth from resistance into surrender. The will from his body was overwhelming.  His lust was driving him mad, and she was certainly not helping.  But he wouldn't, couldn't, be intimate towards her.  He meant nothing to her; nothing.

            Their foreheads were pressed together, as they were outside the hospital wing, and both were breathing raggedly.  She stared up at his cold, silver eyes that had a gorgeous hint of blue.  They were looking at the floor, deciding something.  She wished she meant something more to him, for a brief second she regretted being muggle-born.  She wanted to say 'I love you,' but knew he'd laugh at her and make her feel incredibly stupid.  She didn't love him.

            She did.

            It was driving her crazy, the way she had no idea how she felt.  She continued to stare at his stony eyes that seemed softer now.  "No, Granger," he said, weakly.  "Don't…don't."

            "Why?" she nagged, as much caught up in the moment as he was.

            "Because," he panted.  "No; no."

            "Yes, yes," she teased, pulling him towards her and exposing the collar bone area, above her chest, as her shirt was dragged lower since she leaned back.

            He gasped, fully taken with her manner and struggled to breath.  His leaned, reluctantly, to kiss her soft skin.  Then he reeled back and she shook a little unbalanced.  He took three backwards steps. Staring at the area he was going to kiss.  Then his eyes flitted up to her eyes, he had a panicky sort of expression in the depth of his cold eyes.  He turned and tried to walk away, but his leg quivered weakly.

            "Malfoy," she said in a soft voice.  He shivered and looked back at her.  She loved him.

            "Granger…we're not to meet like this again."

            "Stop pretending it isn't there!" she whined.

            "I know its there!  That doesn't mean we need it."

            Hermione didn't say anything.  Her head jerked back, surprised.  A sort of hurt expression played on her face with vulnerable eyes.

            He sort of whimpered softly, turned, and walked out, his legs moving more forcedly than normal.


	16. Conspiracy

a/n- HUUUUGE set back as my computer failed completely and I had to restart it, restart it fully! Meaning everything was wiped, everyyyything; so I lost my documents (meaning a lot of retyping papers for freakin school!) and all my cd info! Goodbye, tina, my beloved sim (plus, my teachers think its funny to watch me suffer, we got a study guide at least) (---8 pages long)

            As the door shut the sound of it sharp and bitter close slapped Draco's neck, making him shudder.  He was edgy as he paced a hallway, eagerly taking quick strides trying to suppress the running feeling in his rubber legs.  He turned into another hallway; and another.  His heart was beating fast but he couldn't feel it.  His breath was unnoticeable, but weak and coming in short gasps.  Finally he entered what satisfied him as a deserted corridor, narrow and short enough to give a secure safety feeling, and he slid down a wall.  His knees were in the air and he leaned his elbows on them, his hands in his hair.  A gasp erupted from him and it sounded much like a sob, which made him hang his head in shame.

            He was shaking, and trying to suppress the wave of sobs trying to push threw his throat.  "_Men don't cry," he snarled inwardly.  He certainly wasn't feeling that 'manly' right now.  'I had her,' he thought resentfully.  'She was right there, ready for the taking.'  He slammed his head on the wall by jolting it back.  He gently continued to knock it backwards.  "What the hell is wrong with me?"  He let out a disappointed sigh and buried his face in his hands.  So he slipped up.  It was just once, and that was all.  It was never going to happen again; never.  And yet, it is hard to lie to yourself and be convinced.  He may not realize it, but something was agitating him.  He sighed again, taking his face away from his hands to stare, unfocused, at the ceiling close to the wall across from him.  He let one of his hands drop.  "Maybe I'll fancy a fuck with Pansy."  He growled, angry that he didn't feel like it.  He didn't feel like talking to his friends either.  He didn't feel like anything, especially hanging around Hermione.  "That fucked up mudblood," he spat.  And as nothing else came to his mind, he muttered, "Bugger."_

            Hermione lay on the couch in the library, looking up at the ceiling.  She didn't feel that embarrassed, more frustrated.  What had been wrong with him?  He had certainly been a huge disappointment.  'But,' she thought without a smile, 'While it lasted, it was fun.'  She gave an empty giggle, thinking about how she had felt during her pursuit.  Her mind went immediately from that to hunting him, as a sort of sport, but she didn't like the idea.  And that what she had been doing.  She had been trying to hunt him, and it was fun…it was empty too.

            "No," she said, aloud to the empty library.  'I'll just have to think of another way to get him.'  She smiled again, a cross between evil and sincere.  "Malfoy, Malfoy," she taunted to nobody.  "I'll have you."

            And the third of these conspirers was sitting, uncharacteristically quiet, as she was in deep thought in the Slytherin common room.  She was staring at nothing in particular, in this case, a first year who was nervously trying avoid her gaze.  She was considering the numerous ways to seduce Draco Malfoy, who had become her new target.  She had all but forgotten the feel of his touch, and it wasn't just that.  Pansy was not brilliant, but she was extremely wise in anything dealing with romance or sex.  She could eye the tension between her former lover and the muggle-born, and after a few days she had become convinced there was something going on between them.  Jealous Pansy would not stand for this, and for a while she had been plotting to ruin their affair, or a relationship, whatever it was.

            Her eyes shut in pain at the thought of her Draco and that mudblood.  No.  No, this would not do.  She would have a say in this.  To her pleasure, none other but Draco walked through the portal at that moment.  He started off towards his stairs without looking at her.  She waited until she heard his door shut, and then climbed up the stairs.  It was early, no one would be in there but him.

            She reached his door, threw back her hair, and opened his door.  He was laying on his bed look at the top of his four-poster.  Without looking at her he called, "Go away."

            She ignored him and ambled over to his bed, looking down at him.  He turned to meet her stare.  And without any words, she climbed on top of him in a sitting position.  He said nothing either, staring back at her.  "Hello, Draco," she said casually, letting her hands travel to his, reminding him of how Hermione moved.

            "What do you want?" he managed to say before she nibbled on his lower lip, and then moved her tongue in and out of his mouth, teasing him like it had before.  She lowered her face to his neck and began to kiss it, hard, creating a mark where a future hickey would bloom.  She gently held his face up and gave him a little snog.  She drew away and looked at him.  He seemed reluctant to enjoy it, or to at least show that he was enjoying it.  Ignoring that, she grinned at one last fleeting touch to his neck, now bruising, she pulled away in an enticing, luring kind of way.  He watched her leave, his cold, grey-blue eyes following her traveling across the room.

            Pansy shut the door, leaving her captive behind.  She spotted Thorne, a seventh year boy, quite good looking, who was climbing up to his room.  She moved to block his way up.

            "What, Pansy?"

            She was only one step above him, making her almost eye level.  She pulled his head suddenly towards her and kissed him, fiercely.  He was too stunned to push her away and stayed close to her until she released him.  "Well," she said demandingly.  "Invite me up."  He smirked and grabbed her hand, leading her up to his dormitory.  She followed, eyeing the door which lead to the room she had just left.  She knew that she had to make Draco chase her and not chase him herself, he ignored girls that did that.  He was in it for the conquest, and a chance to upstage a seventh year seemed brilliant.  True, he may be of Slytherin and it would have been better if the boy she chose to make him jealous was a Ravenclaw, but Pansy was hungry and was glad that Thorne had been so convenient.  Not only would Draco being showing how much better he is, Pansy knew he favored girls that he couldn't have which she _knew had to be the reason he was showing interest in the muggle-born._

NEW a/n-OMG I'm SOOOOOOO SORRy but NO UPDATE FOR A WHILE, STUDY LIKE MADE DURING CHRISTMAS BREAK AND I JUST SAW THE TWO TOWERS! AHHHh! OMG OMG OMG, GO SEE IT, NOW, THIS INSTANT (if you can, I mean if youre a fan, don't go see it if you aren't, I mean that's just not lotr) ANYWAYS, AHHH! AHHH! ITS WONDERFUL!   AFTER A WHILE I'LL CALM DOWN, BUT NOTHINGS IN MY HEAD RIGHT NOW CEPT LEGOLAS AND THE MOST WONDERFUL THING TO EVER EXIST: THE LORD OF THE RINGS

I LOVE IT ! ITS BRILLIANT, ITS MAGNICIFCENT, ON THE WAY TO HELMS DEEP I WAS LIKE 'HOOOOLLLY SHIIIITTTTTTTTT'    OH AND, FAVORITE PART, DEIFEANTLY WHEN LEGOLAS MOUNTS THE HORSE, (not in a sick joke way, I mean if you see it youll understand, in the theater weveryone was like 'wow! That's so cool!) I half screamed WOAH  (oh god, I accidentally claaped when they showed him, not clapped, tis just my hands flew together and they made this loud sound in a quiet theater) ANYWAYS, I APPLOGIZE FOR THE ABSENSE OF UPDATES,  CURRENTLY MY MIND REFUSES TO THINK OF HP OR DRACO, SORRY

NAMAARIE


	17. Spats

*new update* having trouble, I can write scenes but I cant rewrite them, but I'm working on it; in other news, yahoo is being all bitchy and telling me I have too much mail, so I deleted almost all my old mails and from now on my ff name is mikamiire@yahoo.com, dammit, I keep trying to get ff to accept that but it wont, it keeps saying my mail is explodingplant, quite perturbing

Hmmm, writers block, I can't think of anything without a setting…grumble grumble

Blast

Ok, I'll write anyways and pretend they're in the library, hell that's probably we're it'll end up

Ack

these two are off and on more than ross and Rachel *shakes head

Draco, along with the other prefects, which included Hermione, was informed of news about the upcoming ball. Its name had been decided by Maude, tired of waiting for the future Head Boy and Girl to make it up. Snowball. Draco didn't know if he had ever heard a stupider name. Either way, he didn't care. He had been in sour mood of late. Pansy running around with that loser, and Hermione treating him like cold air. He didn't care. He was threw with Hogwarts women, and wished he had been sent to Durmstrang. But wishing that made him feel more defeated, so he just refused to think about the matter as a whole.

He sat in the library, arms crossed, and wearing an annoyed pout as the prefects were being lectured. Hermione was on the other side of the room; not that he noticed. He stared at Maude, not really seeing her, but thinking about his father.

Maude had been talking for an hour now. A Hufflepuff prefect's head was drooped on her friend's shoulder. Her friend, a Ravenclaw, was trying vainly to listen, though he kept suddenly stirring, staring, and then slowly drifting back into his dumb daze.

"Ok?" asked Maude. She looked at the prefects and her face fell slightly. "Hey!" she shouted. Everyone jumped. She sighed with disgust. "Dismissed."

Everyone got up, but she stopped Hermione and Draco. "You two," she said, picking up her things. They didn't seem eager to listen, but were edging slowly towards the door, Draco least of all, prepared to give Hermione the first way out. But then he thought to himself and decided he should leave first, it was more proper for _him_ to get first dibs after all.

"I want you two to help Adam and me to prepare the ball."

"Sure," Hermione humored, taking a step to the door.

"Whatever," muttered Draco darkly.

"Hey!" she snapped again. They stopped trying to leave. "What's the matter with you two?"

"Nothing's wrong with me," Hermione said, giving Draco a curt, cruel look.

Maude cleared her throat, aware of the tension between the two. "You two," she repeated. "You better fix whatever it is." Hermione's thought drifted slightly to Professor McGonagall's words, but quickly came back to the present. "Because I will not do this project alone!"

"You've got Adam," reasoned Draco.

"Shut up," she growled, not listening. "Fix it or leave it, I don't care! But you two are helping me and Adam prepare this ball, I don't care if I have to drag you kicking and screaming.  Or perhaps I could ask Professor Dumbledore to assign a new Head Boy and Head Girl."

          "No!"

"I've lived up to my responsibilities.  You're Head Girl _now_, and I will be later.?" Hermione said, a little more testy than usual.

Maude put her hand close to Hermione's face and snapped her fingers. The two sixth years stared at her, taken back. "Do you think I care?" Maude said, and signs of stress were obvious in her voice. She turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door.

Hermione stared after her, and, throwing Draco a dark look, turned to leave as well.

Draco laughed lightly at how angry Hermione looked. She turned and glared at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, pushing her aside as he made for the door. Hermione was certainly in an ill mood. She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, trying to leave first. "Hey!" he said, grabbing her arm.

"Let go of me!" she snapped, trying to slap him, but he ducked and grabbed her other arm. She kicked and hit his leg, but he turned her forcefully and pushed her behind him. He made for the door again and Hermione, giving an angry gasp, ran in front of him and kicked him in the stomach.

Draco fell back, hitting the floor. And on instinct, she ran out the door and down the hallway. But it wasn't a second till she heard Draco's footsteps behind her and he tried to grab her arm, but she gave a spurt of speed and ran ahead of him. She heard him call from behind her, "You!" with such anger and spite that she turned to face him. Mistake. He caught up to her in no time. And, to make sure she didn't run, he half tackled her; jumping in the air with his arm outstretched which caught her neck and brought them both crashing to the floor. She gave a loud shriek and tried to get up, stepping on his robes and falling back down before she could balance. "What the hell are you doing?" asked Draco.

"What the hell are YOU doing?"

He tried to get up but a swift kick from her brought him back down. Now he on his hands and knees, over her legs, and she was lying down, though she was pushing off the floor with her hands.

"What on earth?" they heard an adult voice say, and they both looked up. Professor Flitwick was coming out of his classroom, his eyes wide at the sight in front of him. "What is going on here?"

"Er, Professor," Hermione started.

"An accident," Draco said," getting up. "Nothing more." He strode away, Professor Flitwick surveying him wearily.

Hermione left in the same direction as Draco, only when she was sure she wouldn't run into him. But she did bump into a Slytherin.

"Watch it, Granger," hissed Pansy Parkinson.

"Huh?" Hermione looked at the girl in front of her, tutted, and moved to step aside her but Pansy stuck out her leg slyly and tripped Hermione who fell to the floor.

"Opps," Pansy said, turning to look at the Gryffindor on the floor in front of her.

Hermione stared at the floor, tears brimming her eyes.

"Get up," she heard the Slytherin growl. She did not obey. "Get up," Pansy repeated, a much more fierce tone now evident in her voice. She grabbed Hermione's arm and lifted her, Hermione struggling against her.

"Get off of me!"

"Mudblood," Pansy said, surveying Hermione.

"Bitch," Hermione retorted, surveying Pansy.

Pansy stared, no emotion in her face. Than she spat at Hermione's feet, hitting the side of her shoes. Hermione looked slowly down at her feet, and then back up at Pansy.

"You're looking for a fight…I won't give it to you."

Pansy pushed Hermione, who staggered. "Want to know it? I've fucked Malfoy more times than you can count," Pansy bragged. "And I hear you can count pretty high."

"Higher than you."

"So?" Pansy said, taking a step towards Hermione. "At least I'm still not a virgin." She took another step.

"At least I'm not a whore," Hermione said, eyeing Pansy's steel face, trying to figure out what she was up to.

Pansy shrugged. "At the end of the day, I feel better than you."

"That's 'cause you don't feel."

Pansy was now extremely close to Hermione, staring at her, eye to eye. She didn't know a come back to that one. "You're so sad," Pansy said, taking a new tactic.

"I could say the same to you, and it would mean something."

Pansy ignored her, and continued in her scarily quiet voice. "You're so pathetic…So…lonely; so…different."

Hermione scoffed.

"I know you've got your eye on Draco," she said, and Hermione stood stunned. "Sad…Sad, sad, sad."

"I don't have my eye on Draco," she growled. "Unlike you, I like people with a soul."

"Draco's got a soul. I've tasted it."

Hermione had had enough. She turned and Pansy hissed after her, "I've got it better than you."

"All the Slytherins are out of their minds," Hermione said, her voice angry and short tempered. Someone tapped her on the arm. She looked up, ready to yell at whomever it was. But her face softened. It was Dean. "Dean?"

"Hermione…"

"What?"

"Want to come to the ball with me?"

"Of course it leaked out," Ron said, as Hermione was still stunned people knew about the ball. "Where have you been recently?"

Getting Dean as a date certainly helped Hermione's mind leave Draco. She was acting normally with her friends again. It made her feel loads better.

"Who are you going with?" she asked Harry and Ron, who were eating chocolate frogs in the common room. It was now the start of winter holidays, which had recently started.

"Haven't asked anyone," Ron admitted," But I'm not waiting till the last moment again."

"I'm thinking of asking Cho."

Ron sniggered, which quickly changed to choking as he was still eating. "Going to ask her again? How sad."

"Shut your gob," Harry said, unwrapping a new frog.

Dress robes had been a problem. The ball was so last minute that no one had dress robes, but Dumbledore announced none would be necessary, and that regular robes would be fine. A lot of Ravenclaw girls who had already bought robes were very angry.

"So, Dean asking you," Ron said randomly as the trio prepared to go to Potions.

"I know," Hermione said. "I though he'd ask Parvati."

"Me too," Harry said.

The trio crossed an empty hall and descended stairs to the dungeons. They didn't see the two Slytherin who had been in shadow when they heard voices.

"Hermione's going with Dean," taunted Pansy.

"So?"

"Look's like you're the only one without a date," Pansy continue to taunt.

Draco looked at her from the side. "At least I'm not going with a loser."

Pansy gave a laugh, more like scoffing. "Thorne is not a loser."

"He is such a git."

"No he isn't."

"Whatever you say." Draco turned but Pansy came from behind him, wrapping her arms around him and moving about his chest.

"Poor Draco," she soothed.

"I know you haven't gotten over me."

"Nor you me."

He turned quickly and pushed her back so she fell towards him. He kissed her, hard, and she reluctantly kissed back, even if she struggled, which he ignored. He let her go and stared pointedly at her, and she looked angry, as if she had been tricked. "Bye bye," he sneered. As he meant to walk away she reached, about to grab him, but restrained herself. She mustn't feed into it.

a/n-AHHHh! Argh, I hate my comp, well not really, but still! I wrote this long sex scene and it got deleted! Fooy…oh well, I'll just keep working


	18. Back

Urgh, more sorries. Estoy MUY ocupada.

I like being confusing btw, but I'll explain it anyways. *this* is NOT a flashback, meaning its directly after chp 1

Hermione wiped her face from her tears and banged her head against the wall, frustrated. Her stomach churned at the memories. "Fuck," she hissed softly, and the harsh word cut at her throat. She had become so different, so different from her former self. As she reminisced the night of the ball, the days after, she felt the tears in her eyes dry and her heart harden. It was just an infatuation. She had read, over the summer, countless love stories. But none had dealt with the obsession of forbidden love.

"Well no more of that," she said, determined. She stood up and faltered on her rubber legs. But she regained strength and held her head up high as she banged on the door of the sixth year, boys' --- room. There was no answer. She knocked again. "Open up please," she said in amazingly calm voice.

"We have to face her sometime," Harry whispered to Ron from inside. Ron looked disgusted.

"Malfoy," he hissed again.

"I know," Harry sighed. "Maybe she can explain herself.

"I knew it," Ron continued, not listening to Harry.

Harry stood up from his bed, feeling rather unclean, and opened the door very slightly to see a pair of chestnut eyes staring at him. As they looked back at him he felt himself soften despite of himself. "Hermione," he said casually.

"Let me in, please," she said, and he was annoyed by her calm.

"Why would I do that?"

"'Cause you two have slipped up countless times and I haven't turned on you."

"Tell her about that time she tried to hand us into Professor McGonagall, or when she returned Snape's wand back to him fifth year," Ron hissed from somewhere she couldn't see.

She shifted, trying to catch a glimpse of him. "Oh Ron, I could counter back much more slipups from you than that."

"Yea," Harry agreed, still not opening the door. "But none of them include Malfoy." Harry shivered inwardly at the thought of Hermione and Malfoy.

"Maybe so," she said coldly. "What about that time when you kissed Pansy Parkinson?"

"She kissed me! On a dare!" Harry said defensively, momentarily forgetting about Malfoy.

"Hermione," she heard an angry voice say. She listened as footsteps approached and the door swung out of Harry's head. Now she was looking at two angry faces, both of them her friends.

"Y-Yes?" she said in a confident voice, faltering though by mistake and she regretted it deeply inside.

"What do you want? We don't want to talk to you!"

"Isn't that a shame?" she said, taking advantage of the open door to step inside and sit down on a bed. Harry sighed and sat on another bed, but Ron was still unwilling to listen.

"Get out!" he said as if the idea of her not doing so was outrageous.

"No. Not until you forgive me."

"Why would we want to do that?" Ron growled.

"Why should we do that," Harry bettered.

"Because people make mistakes. You two might not know since that last female you've kissed was your mother, but it's very hard to break a kiss."

"My mother!" Ron said indignantly, but Harry interrupted him.

"You should be able to do it though."

"You're right, I should. And I didn't. I'm stupid and sorry."

Harry was a little taken back by her frankness, and Ron was sputtering, still angry about the jest made at his love life. "I've…I've kissed Lavender."

"She screamed!" Hermione recalled, surprised he would bring that up.

"That's just 'cause I caught her off guard."

"The way she was screaming you'd thought someone had shot her ear off."

"Are you my friend or my enemy? Maybe Malfoy's rubbing off on you."

Whatever humor was in Hermione's eyes died as they flashed and she stood up, radiating a deadly female anger. "Don't say that."

"Why not?"

"Ron!"

"What, Mrs. Malfoy?"

Hermione took one step forward and slapped Ron full in the face. She realized what she had done with a dropped jaw. "R-Ron…I."

But Ron wasn't ready to forgive her. Suppressing his anger, he merely pushed her two inches back with a fuming face. "You really are turning into that little sod."

Hermione was about to tackle him, when she suddenly thought he might be right. Pushing the idea out of her mind, she regained control of herself. "It's over. And you two better forgive me in the morning.  I'm going to sleep."

"It's six thirty," Harry reminded her.

"I don't care," she said, dodging Ron and pacing out the door. Ron turned to Harry who had the same expression as him. They stared at each other for a second, and the Ron growled in anger as he realized Hermione had evaded him again.

----------

a/n- there's probably a lot of mistakes, that cause I don't have good conditions to right; which I finally could get around to! It's either homework or Moulin rouge


	19. Kiss

a/n-ok.  I decided if I want to be an author, I gotta stick by my stories.  I wrote this after listening to 'I wanna be with you-Mandy Moore' 100 times.

          "Sorry, Harry," Neville apologized for waking Harry up at dawn by falling out of his bed.

          Harry groaned and turned over, appearing to fall back into his dreams.  Neville bashfully climbed back into his bed and quickly started snoring again.  A few long minutes later, Harry sat up in silence.  He looked around at the boys who were starting, very slowly, to rise from their slumber.  But they still had an hour or so before waking up and preparing for classes.  Harry glanced at Ron.  Ron had pushed a pillow over his face, trying to block out the sun.

          With a tired smile, Harry quietly crawled out of bed.  He grabbed his black robes and carefully stepped out of their dormitory, taking him a moment to shut the door silently.  Outside, Harry put his robes over his pajamas.  It was only when he was outside, that it hit him.  He couldn't talk to Hermione now; the girls were still in their room.  Only for a second did he think of sneaking in since the girls would wake up.

          Discouraged, he hung his head.  But he couldn't go back to bed.  "I need to brush my teeth."  Oh well, he walked down the stairs, staring a little at the stairs Hermione climbed up for bed.  The common room was abandoned.  Sleepily, he fell down on a chair and drifted from sleep to consciousness, all his thoughts pertaining to Hermione.

          Hermione was walking around the lake.  She hadn't really slept, though there were a few hours of a dream-like state.  She kicked the ground in front of her, deep in thought.  She never appreciated how beautiful dawn could be.  Mist hovered over the lake and fog slept above her in the sky.  The sky was painted colors of red, a few yellows seeping in and out.

          She heard steps behind her.  She froze, looking up; hope and despair swelling in her chest.  As the steps stopped behind her she swung around and raised her head again.

          "Hi."

          "What are you doing here?"

          "I saw you from the library window."

          Hermione looked at the ground before staring back at his ice-grey eyes.  The ice looked unusually warm.  "Go away," she said in a small voice.  Draco turned her around gently so she looked out at the lake.  She shivered as she felt his arms wrap around hers.  "What?  What are we looking at?"

          "The lake."

          "So?  I've seen it."

          "Seen it like this?  With a red and purple surface?"  Hermione tried to shoot him down again, but her mouth opened only to quiver a bit.  Her eyes were watering again and she was sick of crying.  "More often than not it's restless.  But look it at now."  She looked at it again, trying to see what he was seeing.  "See the way the water reflects the sky?  It's right out of a Monet painting.  'Cept, now…it's much more vivid.  Monet can try to capture the feeling, but look at it.  You can't capture this scene."

          "Draco…I'm going inside."  He didn't move his arms away; he simply kept looking out at the lake.  She summoned up her strength to say what didn't want to come out of her.  "You can't just say a bunch of stupid, romantic stuff and expect things to change.  Lea-Leave me alone."  Still, he didn't back away.  "Draco," she growled again, but the growl came out as a whine.

          He pressed the side of his head against hers.  "Shhh.  Just look at the lake."

          "No!  It's just a stupid lake."  Hermione tried to wriggle out of his arms.  After hesitating, Draco let her.  Hermione began to walk away, feeling his eyes on her back.  She shook off her emotions and stopped any tears falling.  She kept on her determined path.  Thoughts and feelings started pouring through her mind and she yelled inwardly, sick of so much sensations and thoughts, wills.  'Stop!' she screamed to herself.  She stopped, stopped walking.  Almost all of what was going on in her head shut up except one thing.

          Turning slowly, Hermione looked back at Draco who was still standing by the lake.  Tall; blond; pale skin that felt so cold against hers…there was else about him.  Hermione felt her legs moving towards him, and for once her mind agreed with them.  Draco smiled as she stopped in front of him.  She felt his arms find their way to her back.  Her eyes closed as she found her right place.  Then she felt Draco pull up a bit and she looked at him.  His eyes.  "You look too much," she said softly as her hand pressed his head down.  Hermione didn't feel her world melt away since all she felt was Malfoy.  She knew without realizing it that Pansy had never tasted his soul.  Glimpses of sensing him developed inside of her as Hermione let herself dissolve into the kiss.


	20. Stalling

a/n-I didn't want you to miss detail (like I do) so I italicsed some things that don't really need it/italicsed isn't a word

          Hermione's eyes opened to a commotion disturbing her dream which consisted of her, Colin Farrell, and a boat far off in the Caribbean.  She focused, reluctantly.  She saw an owl fluttering around beside her, demanding she took its notice.  The owl scratched her leg, which was fortunately covered in a wool blanket.  "Fine," she snapped.  The _thirty year __old woman snatched the letter and paid the owl, still sitting in her bed.  She was too tired to close the blinds, which her husband had opened stubbornly.  As she laid back there was a knock on her door.  Hoping that they'd go away if they thought she was asleep, Hermione said nothing.  But the door opened and a red haired girl poked her head in.  "Mummy?  Where's the pudding?"_

          "You're not eating pudding at this hour."

          "Benny said you said I could since daddy said I could."

          "Leave mummy alone."

          "But-"

          "Colin!" Hermione dismissed, throwing her pillow over her face.  Her daughter left with a young, indignant pout.  Hermione tried desperately to go back to sleep but the stupid sunlight kept burning through her eyelids.  She grumpily grabbed the letter and opened it, but before she could read it the door swung open.  A thirty year old Ron moseyed in saying over enthusiastically, "Honey, I'm home!"

          "Ah!"  Hermione sat up again, but instead of the Weasley's over-crowded, clutter manner, she saw the Hogwarts castle.  "Oh…Thank God," she panted.  "Just a dream.  Whew."

          Hermione let her head fall gently on the pillow underneath her.  She had the beauty of a lover emanating from her supple skin.  Her chestnut eyes reflected the moonlight that sneaked its way into her room.  Her eyelashes batted as she mused over the day.

          In a haze, she remembered the classes.  But she could recall nothing but the interactions of that day.  She saw Harry and Ron who grudgingly came up to her for their second period, the first class they had with her.  She almost cried, stupidly, when they forgave her.  She didn't feel the normal guilt, knowing that she hadn't given up on Malfoy.  Only because that morning was the most beautiful memory she ever had.  A smile came to her face whenever she thought about it, which meant she spent most the day trying not to think about it.

          She was still deliberating on what to do.  Hermione never knew she could feel so torn.  On the one hand, she wanted her life back.  She wanted nothing to do with Malfoy anymore.  He only brought her trouble and almost came between her and her friends, which he could still do.  And there was reality.  They couldn't be a couple.  That just didn't make any sense.  He should know that to, why did he keep pulling her back?  And then…

          'I think I'm in love…'

          "Oh shut up, Hermione!" Hermione hissed to herself, speaking out loud.  "Look at yourself.  You're talking to yourself.  And you're such a crybaby, too."  She heard Lavender groan at the noise and she kept her thoughts to herself again.  "I wish I had someone to talk to."  She felt so alone as she drifted into a distressed sleep.

a/n-there's a reason for such a disturbed beginning, its coming


	21. Complications

                Back in the dreamland Weasley house, Hermione struggled out of her room still in her nightgown and looking awful with her neglected hair and harassed face.  The adult Hermione groggily walked downstairs into the crowded kitchen, seeing the back of her husband.  "What is it?" she asked, sensing something wrong.

                She sat down at the table, taking a glass of stale water while waiting for Ron to answer; which he didn't.  After waiting another moment Hermione prompted him.  Ron swung around with a grim look on his face.  "What's this?" he asked, holding up a picture of a pale-faced, blond boy in Slytherin robes.  Mid-sip, Hermione froze as she stared at the picture.  But it was becoming foggy and instead of the warm Weasley house a stone castle was draining into place.

                Hermione blinked a few times as her head throbbed with the task of removing such a steadfast dream.  Finally, her eyes focused somewhat on the canopy above her.  So she had another dream.  But this time, before the dream slipped through her memory, she grasped the meaning.

                She tried to turn over but it only made her head sting more.  So she rested back, pondering the meaning of her dream.  She tried to think of something else but her headache wouldn't let her.  A knot tied in her stomach as she confronted the dream. 'So, I'm still hung up on betraying my friends.'  She sighed with disgust at her thoughts.  Words like 'backstabbed' and 'untrustworthy' kept poking at the sides of her vulnerable heart.  'Just break it off; it's so simple.'  'But I don't want to.'  'Of course I do.'  Hermione whined as she turned over, forgetting that it made her head pound and earning herself a nastily rough sleep.

"Malfoy," called a sharp voice nearby the Slytherin common room.

                The boy with milky-white skin, strapping shoulders and a confident smirk turned slowly around to watch the girl who felt so spurned.

                "Where are you going?" Pansy asked, taking quick steps towards him.

                He grinned.  "Go away, Pansy."

                "What?" she snapped, pulling roughly on his shoulder to prevent him from turning his back on her.  "You wouldn't want the whole school to know about your little endeavors with Miss Mudblood now would you?"  She didn't scare Draco.  What was she going to do?  He just tried to draw back again; but Pansy wasn't giving up.  A low feeling almost like being degraded had been swelling in her.  With a subtle indignation written in her slyly-protected face she uttered, "Don't walk away from me."

                Draco gave her another coolly disbelieving stare; still acting light but he began to understand traces that Pansy may be reaching an edge.  He stared a little at her, trying to analyze her which was hard since the two were experts at hiding emotionally.  Still trying to convince himself it was a little joke, Draco tried to leave again for the Great Hall but Pansy pulled him back.  Only this time did he recognize how tough her tug was.  "…Pansy…"  He looked back at her eyes which were ice cold, static and were completely and dangerously void of any humor.

                She opened her mouth slightly and exhaled a few livid breathes.  She tried to speak but words were coming very hard to her.  "I-" Pansy closed her eyes to block everything out and come up with some sensible words.  "What-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you?"

                Her choice had been so unexpected that normally Draco would have laughed.  But when her eyes reopened and he was hit again by her stare, he could only accept that amenity wasn't apart of the conversation.  Draco was slowly walking away from her with narrowed eyes, still unable to figure her out.  He guessed a few feeling she might be emanating but the only that was sure in his mind was that he wanted to leave.  Pansy watched him retreat with her fixated eyes.

                As Hermione walked past the Slytherin table she felt chills go down her spine, and not the normal exciting vibes she received from Draco.  She felt as if eyes were watching her, so she looked over.  A few pairs of eyes here and there stood out as following her, but none were the source of her intuition.  Hermione looked over at the Gryffindor table and saw that Harry and Ron were talking animatedly, not suspecting any foul play from her.

History of Magic, with the Slytherins.  Hermione sat tensely in her back row seat next to Ron who was between her and Harry.  She twiddled her quill a bit, waiting for Professor Binns to enter.  The class was filling up quickly and she saw Draco sit next to his two taller friends though he didn't make eye contact with her once.  Fine.  It was fine.  She tried to focus on the previous notes.  But she couldn't, and they were horribly written notes anyways.  '400 A.D.…da Vinchi's discovery…later…Italians…'  Her notes were looking more like Ron's everyday, and finally it was starting to annoy her.

The power of someone's stare brought her attention to the right of the room, second row.  She met a pair of muddy-green eyes glaring right at her from the devious face of Pansy.  Pansy's eyes almost looked as if she didn't see Hermione, or at least she didn't see Hermione staring back.  They were focused in an unnatural way.  Hermione quickly recovered and ignored Pansy with a flick of her hair as Ron addressed her.  The students quieted fairly as their ghost teacher entered through the blackboard.

                Pansy didn't notice that the Mudblood looked back.  She was in a strange mix of aspiration and reality.  She was still glaring over at the girl, but as class began Pansy resumed pretending to be paying attention.  Instead of listening, she roamed around in her fantasies; all of them being her triumphant defeat of Granger.  An eerie grin slowly spread on her face, as she had forgotten to maintain the 'serious-student' pose.  She imagined the several hundred ways, most being completely realistic, she could crush Hermione mercilessly.  They varied from a physical win to a social one.  Either way, she could sit there and be happier imagining them then listening to Binns.

                A new vision of her somehow framing Hermione for cheating, exposing it, and watching Hermione loose her cherished Head Girl position formed indistinctly.  "I might even have a chance at being Head Girl myself," she assumed, quite wrongly.  She took a quick stare back at the naïve Hermione, turning away quickly with a small smile.

                "Ron…Ron, wake up," Harry hissed.  Hermione struggled to stay attentive to the lesson, even though all sorts of distractions she had never felt before were poking at her tired brain.  Dimly listening to Ron and Harry bicker, Hermione decided to droop her head down on her desk.

                She was walking away to Arithmancy, which meant she was alone, when she collided with something hard.  "Ow!" she snapped, ill-tempered, and looking up to see what she hit.  "Malfoy…What a surprise," she said, cleverly hiding her emotion as he always did.  "What are you doing here, you don't have this class."

                "How would you know what class I'm in?"

                "I know you're not in _this_ one."

                The two stared at each other for a minute; Hermione with curiosity and Draco with a hidden glee, somewhere between amusement and delight.  After nothing happened Hermione growled and pushed him aside.  Taking her arm, Draco pulled her in close and felt her give in immediately.  Hermione didn't realize how quickly she caved.  She felt his familiar tongue explore inside of her and she let herself indulge in the rush.  Her hands ran over him and she felt her submission dissolve into an equal exhilaration.  The thrill was building up in her chest and she tried to let some of it escape with a soft moan.

                That may or may not have called the attention of the person who was remaining stationary down the hall.  Hermione's heart dropped when she heard the exasperating footsteps.  She didn't think she could bear another interruption.  "Draco!" someone called, wondering where he was.

                Draco froze up as he recognized the voice.  Almost before the person rounded the corner she felt herself being pushed into the unlocked door nearby before she realized what was happening.  As Hermione found herself in a world of dusty darkness she cursed herself for being so stupid, feeling jittery from the adrenaline.

                "…Draco," she heard a cool and still confused voice.  Her eyes screwed up, trying to connect the voice with its speaker.

                "Yes?" he answered, rather a little rough for someone who was usually so comfortable with covering something up.  Hermione could tell he was awkwardly slanted against the closet door.

                "…What are you doing here?"  The sudden connection of Pansy Parkinson sparked in Hermione's mind and made a suitable match for the voice.

                "N-Nothing.  Why are _you_ here?"

                "…"

                "…"

                "…What's up?"

                "Aren't you late for class?"

                "Aren't you?"

                "I don't need to go to class," Draco said, still not making much sense.

                "Just tell her to go!" hissed Hermione.  She jumped back as the closet door shook from Draco's elbow.

                Pansy eyed the closet he was leaning against with careful suspicion.  "Why don't you walk me to class?"

                "C-Maybe I don't want to."

                "Draco…"

                "PANSY, shouldn't you be running off now?" he said, shouting her name to cover Hermione's cough.

                Pansy, a little shook, carefully walked away, turning to look back at him occasionally until she vanished around the corner.

                Draco grinned and pulled the closet open as soon as she disappeared and helped Hermione out as the two giggled silently from the relief of not being caught.  She fell into his arms, laughing as quietly as she could.  It was a strange thing; to be laughing with a Slytherin.

                "Draco, one more thing," Pansy suddenly added, turning the corner.

                Draco and Hermione froze; Hermione still in his arms.  Pansy froze too, appalled at the site.  Neither Draco nor Hermione could say anything.  They just watched Pansy stutter furiously.  After a humiliated second, Pansy took a step back which lead to her dashing down the hall.

                "I…better be off to class," Hermione excused herself.

                "Yeah...I better be off to see where Pansy went."

                She felt Draco's arm fall away as she walked up the hall, and two smiled at each other.  Hermione felt something different about their departure this time.  She didn't leave feeling trashy, stupid, or like she had betrayed anyone.  She felt a strange giddiness that was somehow new.


	22. Brewing

ARGH a/n- yes I know, I'm horrible, I'm am soooo sorry! I had writer's block/exams/one of my friends is having a crisis-- the whole exam excuse thing again since everyone in my school is going to Harvard but me, but hey school is over and it's summer. The summer I have dubbed: the summer of fanficness I started this chapter a long time ago but a major writer's block came along and I haven't been ignoring this it's been bugging me SO much that I haven't updated but I promised myself during study time I wouldn't go on the computer-but I did some brainstorming on the story  
  
Pansy paced around an empty room. She looked completely normal, but inside she was festering with bitter umbrage. A thousand ideas were spilling into her furious mind, but she dismissed all of them.  
"That won't work!" she barked at herself.  
She didn't even know what she was trying to concoct. She hated Malfoy. She loathed him with every fiber of her being. She hated him even more than she hated Hermione; Hermione was just a slut who got in the way.  
'He used me. He used me in his enrapturing way, that bastard,' she muttered in her crazed mind. 'I'll kill him. I'll kill him, that bastard, that god damn bastard.' Pansy didn't love Draco, but in her damaged, jaded mind she thought she did.  
"Pansy?" She stopped pacing as her head jerked up and she turned around, looking at the door. No one entered but from behind the closed door she heard her Head of House answer.  
"Mr. Malfoy, what are you doing here?"  
"Oh, Professor Snape. I-" There was an impatient silence. "I came looking for-I'm here-"  
"Loss for words?"  
"Uh-"  
"Well then, I won't keep you. By the way, would you please go to Hagrid's hut and retrieve some boomslang skin. I don't like to go there since the.unpleasantness."  
"Yes, sir."  
Pansy waited until both footsteps had left before she moved again.  
  
Potions class. Draco and Hermione kept catching each other's eyes during class, which they knew they shouldn't do. People might see.  
"Mr. Malfoy," Snape shot. Draco jumped to attention, as he hadn't paying much. "About the errand I sent you on-"  
"Oh, Professor," Draco answered. "I've been meaning to tell you, I went and Hagrid said it'd gone missing.  
Snape nearly broke his wand in half. They heard him mutter, "Why that ill-mannered, little ___." Snape's olive face slightly red he said as calmly as he could, "Why don't you all leave early today, hmm?"  
The class looked at each other and shrugged. It was their first time leaving early from Potions. (a/n-I think)  
"Come on," Ron said to Harry and Hermione. The two boys left without problem and began to climb up the stairs, but Hermione, nervously not looking around, bumped into someone.  
"Watch it, Granger," Pansy snapped as she quickly tugged on the strands of Hermione's hair that were in her face.  
"Ow." Hermione looked up at Pansy who was holding a few golden strands. "What are you? Insane?"  
"They were in my way." Hermione ricocheted as Pansy walked past, firmly knock her shoulder with Hermione's and strolling past Ron and Harry.  
"She can be a real bitch sometimes," Ron said truthfully and Hermione rubbed her head.  
  
Hermione noticed she had another meeting with Maude, but at least this time it was one on one. She was to go to the library. Hermione's entire idea of a library had changed over the last happenings.  
On her way she bumped into Hagrid. "'Lo Hermione."  
"Hagrid!" A fresh, new, friendly face raised Hermione's spirits unexpectedly. She didn't feel judged, guilty, or dirty for once. "How are you?"  
His smile faded. "Not good. Snape's been on my tail."  
"Why?"  
"He won't even come to my face 'n talk 'bout it. Why? Oh, 'cause he thinks I stole his stupid ingredients."  
"What?"  
"Some of his ingredients have gone missing and since the.well he thinks I'm the only one who hates him in this entire school. Or I'm the only one of them who'll act on it. 'N he's going behind me back and talking directly to Dumbledore. Like Dumbledore'll listen ta him."  
"Oh, Hagrid that's h." Hermione trailed off as she spotted a pale face behind him. "Mal-"  
"Malfoy?" Hagrid finished, turning around.  
Draco broke his stare and turned up to Hagrid. "Snape wants you. He's in his classroom."  
"That-" Hagrid was already taking great steps towards the corridor that had the dungeon stairs. "Make me come to him," Hagrid muttered. Before he left he looked back at Hermione and Draco who were staring at him, waiting for him to leave. "Hermione. Don't you have somewhere you ought to be?"  
"Oh right!" Hermione remembered, completely forgetting about Maude. Hagrid left, but not after a meaningful, suspicious look at Hermione. "Why does Professor Snape want him?" Malfoy shrugged. It was a little awkward while they waited for one of them to say something. ".Well.I have a meeting with Maude?"  
"Really? She has a meeting with me tomorrow. Probably thinks we shouldn't be in the same room."  
"Yeah.We have been neglecting our Head Boy/Girl duties."  
"They're not our duties yet." But he was caught off by Seamus and Dean coming into the hall. They stopped, and Hermione and Draco stopped talking. Everyone looked at each other. Draco and Dean narrowed eyes at each other, still livid from a fight they had had at the ball. "Well. I better be off." Draco turned coolly and strode back to where he came from, probably off to the Slytherin commons. Seamus and Dean walked past Hermione, disgusted, and she felt a pang disgrace, again.  
  
a/n-the ball and some things in this chapter come up later 


	23. A Little Prank

            Draco looked at the almost indistinguishable scar on his elbow.  He ran a finger over it, a little bothered by the way the slick, milky skin felt.  He sniffed in the cold air of the Slytherin common room.  What a wretched existence.

            Life was fine up to now.  Recently he just didn't feel the shallow joys of living anymore.  Except when he was with, or though of, Hermione.  But that though alone made him sick.  "I hate her," he said to himself so no one else heard.  Crabbe and Goyle were leaving him alone on his command, and no one else risked sitting next to him for the moment.  He took out the small package his father sent him.  In it a small silver snake glistened; the green eyes piercing Draco every time he glanced at it.

            He sighed and ran a pale hand threw his platinum blond hair.  "I hate…everything."  "I-" he started, but he found out he didn't know what he was trying to say.  He didn't even know what he felt.  Someone entered the common room and Draco's heart jumped, thinking it was Hermione.  But the fifth year who entered with bushy hair didn't have Hermione's face, and Draco's smile faded away.

            "Mudbloods," he heard someone spit with disgust in a heated conversation.  Draco pretended to read the titles of books close to him while ease dropping.  "They're everywhere in this damn school."

            "Luckily they're not in here," a girl giggled.

            "But what about when we graduate?  Where's our damn haven then?"

            "In our homes?"

            "Shut up!"

            "I dunno," the girl said after a short pause.

            "With You-Know-Who?" offered a small boy.  Everyone laughed.

            "I don't think you should go near You-Know-Who, Rupert.  That man's bloody dangerous."

            "Is it true what everyone's saying?  That the attacks are by him?" the girl cut in again.

            "Probably.  It adds up, everything's that been happening in the past years."

            "You s'pose he'll get Potter next?"

            "What I can't see is why he hasn't gotten Potter during the summers.  He lives with muggles!"

            "You know what would be fun?" the girl asked.

            "Shirley, stop interrupting."

            "Playing pranks on all the Mudbloods," she finished.

            "Shirley, that's so god damn childish."

            "Why?"

            "Pranks?"  The ringleader dawned a girlish voice, "Ooh!  Ooh!  Look at me, I'm Shirley.  I switched a Mudblood's wand with a stick."  He giggled lightly and the rest of the group snickered.  Now his voice was back to normal.  "Who cares if a Mudblood cries?  The only _good revenge is through the path of You-Know-Who."_

            "What; are you saying we should kill them?"

            "Yes, Shirley," he said sarcastically.  "That'll be the smartest thing for us schoolchildren to do…Hey, Malfoy!"  Draco's head shot up and he looked over at the convening group who were all staring at him.  Kyle, the ringleader, waved him over and reluctantly Draco walked over and took a seat in the group.  "Now don't worry, you can tell us.  You gonna follow in the footprints of your dad and take the righteous path?"

            Draco looked at all the eyes pouring into him.  He turned to Kyle.  "What are you talking about?  Everything my father's done is perfectly legal."  The group laughed and Draco joined them, feeling Kyle hit him on the back.

            "Good man, Malfoy.  So.  What do _you_ think of all this impurity in our life?"

            "It's, er-"  Draco coughed on an invisible block in his throat.  "…Bad."

            The group laughed again.  "True, true," chuckled Kyle.  "I hate Anderson the most," Kyle growled with a new anger.  "What about you?"

            "Is there any worse than Potter?"

            "You've had quiet a few run-ins with Potter haven't you?  You gonna demolish him in the next Quidditch match?"

            Draco noticed the new feeling as the eyes looking at him shimmered with some sort of pride.  They had pride in him.  "Of course.  That is if he doesn't fall off his broom again."  The group howled and the conversation went on, Draco smiling broadly like he used to when he was with his friends.  He felt like a part of the group again.

            Hermione tossed and turned in her sleep.  She awoke sleepily with a tired growl.  All she wanted was a good night's sleep…well that's not all she wanted.  She sat up, sick of the headache that was attacking her.  She tried to pull her bushy, tangled hair into a ponytail.  It ended up as a knot in the back of her head, but at least it was out of her way.

            She found her robe and carefully walked down the stone steps into the abandoned common room.  The fire was out and the room was lit by cloudy moon light.

            "Shhh," giggled Shirley.  The Slytherins outside the Gryffindor common room shook with silent laughter, all except Draco and Kyle.  Those two were too serious to be joining in with the excitement.  All the Slytherins were in fifth to seventh year and were the gutsiest of the group.  At the moment their pureblood faces were masked or covered in some way so they couldn't be recognized by anyone if they happened to spot them.  They all had had Invisibility potions, pre-bought by Virginia, the richest girl in school who bought everything and everyone, but the potions had worn off.  "This is going to be great," snickered Shirley.

            "Shut up," Kyle hissed.  He took out his knife.

            "Kyle," Draco whispered.  "Won't she scream?"

            Kyle paused.  "Ok then.  Let's write the message first, take the next round of potions, slash her, then get the hell out of here."  The group nodded.  Kyle and two other boys started working on writing something with a potion that acted like paint.  It needed a charm to be removed.  "James!  You're doing it wrong, you drunken bastard."

            Draco peered around the hall nervously.  He had been pressured into going with the group and still didn't feel too good about it.  Of course, he hated the damn Mudbloods, but…the nagging thought of Hermione still troubled him.  It shouldn't.  He didn't care about her.  He listened for the sign of someone or maybe Ms. Norris' footsteps.

            Hermione, who had been resting on a Gryffindor couch, thought she heard something from outside.  She perked.

            "Quiet!" Kyle quietly screamed.  Shirley had lost control and let out a shrill laugh that had pierced the silence.

            Draco looked at the sleeping Fat Lady, praying that she was too sleepy to wake up.  He was surprised she hadn't already been awake, as it was her job to guard this place.  Kyle had assured them that he had taken care of this.  How he did so, Draco wasn't sure.  He still wasn't certain this was the right painting in the fist place, but the kids back in the common room insisted on it.  A Gryffindor first year told his twin brother in Ravenclaw last year.  The brother told his best friend who traded it to the Slytherins for money.  Draco bit his lip nervously.

            "Malfoy, come look!"

            Hermione could swear she heard voices.  Maybe she was imagining things.  Now it was starting to scare her.  The memory of Ron's near death experience with Black reemerged from her subconscious as well as plenty of fears she harbored about rape and death.

            Kyle and the others were cackling with satisfaction.  They had written 'Death to Mudbloods' on the opposite wall of the painting.  He jabbed Malfoy's arm.  "Whatdya think?"

            "It's-Are you sure this is the right place?"

            Kyle teased Draco.  "Don't be such a worry wart.  Now come on."  Everyone took a potion from Virginia.  Draco felt the ice cold sensation burn over him as he shivered.  He started to fade away like the others, and so did everything he was touching.  

Kyle's knife on the ground disappeared as Kyle touched it.  He took a soft footstep.

            Hermione was thinking about running away, just because the fear was starting to consume her.  But then, a shriek cut threw the air and screeched inside her ears.  Hermione jumped, but instead of screaming herself, she leapt forward and tossed the door open, not even checking to see if she had her wand.

            Hermione peered out into the blank hall with terrified eyes.  She heard footsteps which came to halt.  Her heart beat started climbing.  She had to run, she knew it, but she couldn't.  She was glued there.  'Death to Mudbloods.'  She had to run.

            Hermione was summoning up the courage to turn her back and escape to her dormitory.  Out of no where a splurge of red paint threw itself at her.  She took a step back in surprise and heard hooting and laughter.  Then whoever it was ran away again.

            Malfoy watched as the events unfolded.  He felt a crushing pain in his chest but he ignored it.  It was funny what happened to her…it really was.

            Malfoy turned away, disgusted as he heard the red potion splash unto Hermione.  She fell against the painting's door, panicked and mortified.  He couldn't enjoy it.  It hurt him, seeing her in such a disgraceful state.  She wasn't crying at least.  Then again, she looked like she was overwhelmed with shock.  He saw such humiliation in her chestnut eyes.

            The Slytherins started to jog back home.  He hadn't told his legs to move yet.  Shirley paused, noticing Draco was still behind.  She was just another of the Slytherin girls who craved after him, but she acted very coolly on it.  Shirley, a girl whose assets who were more on her looks and popular personality then on her brain, was completely caught up in the exhilaration on the moment.  She called for Malfoy to hurry up.  "Come on, Dra-"  Kyle kicked her before she could finish his name but it was too late.  One of them had been identified.  Hermione looked desperately around, trying to see him.

            'Did she say 'Draco?''

            Draco's heart plummeted, seeing Hermione look for him with such regret.  Leaving on that awful note he took off, following the group.


	24. The Ball

*ANOTHER flash back* I must admit, I am found of them.

            It was a stainy, dusty night.  Hermione would much rather lie on her bed pretending to sleep, but she had stumbled out a 'yes' to Dean and she was going to keep it.  Like most everyone else she had asked her parents to fly in her old dress robes.  Some kids ordered their parents to buy new ones, some already had spares ready.  Most of the younger classmen who didn't have old dress robes from before were just going in their normal ones.  Maude was furious about this, but there wasn't much she could do but snip at them.

            Hermione looked at herself the long mirror Pavarti hung up beside her bed.  She examined her appearance for the first time in quite a while.  It was ok she thought.  Her robes were just a bit short, and tighter across the chest from before.  She guessed she was acceptable.  Since this was a semi-formal ball she didn't go through the trouble of straightening her hair.  She knew there must be a _simple, magical way to straighten it; she just hadn't found it yet.  "I hate my hair."  It was a little wet, as she had tried to calm it down a bit.  It worked alright, her hair didn't look as frizzy as normal.  But still, she didn't think she was pretty enough.  And she knew why she thought this was so important.  "God!"  She straightened her dress out nervously.  She knew Dean was in the common room, probably anxious since she was incredibly late.  The ball already started.  "Ok, ok."  She summoned up her will.  'He's going to be there.'  She ignored herself.  'I'm being stupid.'  She pushed her hand down the front of her dress again, trying to fix nonexistent wrinkles.  It was like she was obsessed with the image in the mirror.  "OK, now I have to go."_

            The door opened.  Draco sighed.  "Draco!"

            "I told you to go away."

            "I can't believe you'll miss this!"

            He turned his head to look at her.  Pansy was standing in his dormitory door with newly bought robes.  They were red and fell a bit lower than normal on her neckline.  He didn't see why, it's not like she had a chest.  "I'm going to say this as slow as possible.  Go-A-Way."

            She ignored him and huffled over to his bed being extremely annoyed.  "The ball's started.  It's really nice--no, it's pleasant!"  She waited.  He shifted so she was looking at his backside.  "Uh!  Draco!" she screeched, pulling his shoulder roughly so he was thrown back to looking at her.  "Listen to me!  Get up and go to the ball right now!"

            "What's so hard about this?  NO."

            "Exactly: what's so hard about this?  It would really mean a lot to me if you came."

            "Well…NO."

            Pansy tried a new tactic.  She knelt down so she was balanced on her ankles.  "Hermione will be there," she said in a heinous voice, full of wicked pleasure.  "Don't you want to see Hermione?" she asked, if talking to a young child.  She ran her fingers up Draco's neck, feeling a chill run up them.  "Maybe you can snag a snog.  You know, I'm sure you'd love to defile you're pureblood mouth," she said in a very matter-of-fact way.  Draco waved her hand off him, roughly.  Pansy sneered.  "I'd think you would be the last to betray blood."

"I don't," he said through gritted teeth, failing to block her out.

"Oh sure," she said very sarcastically.  She started playing with his slicked back hair, messing up the ends.  "Maybe I'll just get me a Mudblood.  Sport the thing around."  She felt a faint sign of heat from his neck.  Considering Draco was very cold, she was surprised, and spitefully satisfied, to see he was so angry.  "Oh, don't be so uptight.  You know I could never get near one of those things."  In a flash Draco turned around and shoved her off him.  Pansy fell of her ankles and her elbows caught her just before she hit the floor.  They stared at each other, equally surprised.  After the shock wore off, Pansy got to her feet and spat, rather uncharacteristically at the foot of his bed.  "Fine.  Be a blood traitor.  I don't give a damn.  You can go to Gryffindor for all I care."  She stopped out, the heels clicking loudly.  She stopped, pausing at the door.  "Weasley," she said coolly.

            Draco turned back around, trying to think of something other than what she had said.  An insult like 'Weasley' cut right into him.

            "Wow," Hermione gasped.  'Maude did a really good job…for last minute.'

            "You want to dance?" Dean asked.

            "Huh?  Oh, no.  I mean not right now.  I'm-I-I need to sit down."

            "Already?"

            "It was a long walk here."

            "Ok."  Dean led them to a table with Seamus and Lavender.  She had just assumed she was going to sit with Ron and Harry, but she could compromise for now.  She sat down, not thinking.

            "Hermione!"  She looked up at Ron running over, his date dragging behind him.  Mandy Brocklehurst from Ravenclaw.  She waved sheepishly as Ron stopped in front of them.  He nodded acknowledgingly to the rest and then spoke to Hermione.  "Glad you decided you'd come some time during the night."

            "Why thank you," she said sarcastically.  She noticed Ron was wearing a much better pair of dress robes than he did in fourth year.  "Where's Harry?"

            "Off with Cho," he said, rolling his eyes.

            "Oh, right."

            Ron noticed the strange look in Hermione's eyes.  "What's up?"

            "Nothing."

            "You look nice," said Ron, almost saying 'you look decent,' which probably wouldn't be very well appreciated.

"Thanks."  Ron tried to say his welcome, but Mandy pulled him away and he merely waved a goodbye.

Hermione looked down at the table.  She knew who she'd like to be here with.  Astonishingly, her eyes were brimming with tears as she looked into the candlelight.  She quickly forced them away, but pondered on why she'd be so moved.

"Marcus?  That's surprising."  Pansy turned away from her date.

"Oh, Draco," she said coolly.  "You didn't bother to wear dress robes?"

"I'm not the only one.  Anyways, I just came to say 'hi,'" he said, awkwardly on the last note.

"Hi."

"…Yeah, well."

He turned but Pansy jerked his shoulder back.  "You're not getting off that easy.  Why would you come all the way down here?"

"Nice walk."

"Really?" she said, humoring him.

"Absolutely.  Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to be late for my walk back."

"Why don't you do that," Flint said, turning Pansy back to face him.

"Oh, sod off."  She caught Draco who tried to sneak out when her back was turned away.  "If you came here for me, your own kind, here I am.  If you came to disgrace the name of 'Malfoy,' she's over there."  Pansy indicated a group of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.  Hermione was dancing uncomfortably with Dean.  Draco, despite himself, felt his eyes narrow.  He felt Pansy's eyes on him.  Disgrace the name of Malfoy…

"Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"I, er-" Hermione's eyes flew past his head to a couple dancing to a slow song, played by the band Better Than Banshees.  Draco and Pansy.  Her heart jumped, and immediately she noted they were too close.  "I need drinks," she said, as if he had slapped her.  She noticed her tone and added gently, "Be right back."  She pushed past people, as if she had been embarrassed, towards the drinks.  Was she surprised?  No…It was just, even if she shouldn't, and even if it was completely unreasonable…she still hurt a little bit.

She took a pumpkin juice and starred at it, not really seeing it.

"Hello."  She didn't pay attention to the voice; it was probably for someone else.  She was right, the voice and someone else started talking about their dates to each other.

"Hello," she heard someone else say.  Hermione continued to stare at the orange liquid rippling about in her cup.  She glared at it, smiled, and then readopted her lost look.  So many things were going through her head and she barely heard any of them.  "Hello."

'If I want to be honest with myself I-'

Hermione almost spilled her drink, but she couldn't move with shock.  Someone's hand was lifting her chin softly.  She looked up.  "Hello," he said again.

"Hello," she said after a short pause.  She didn't really know what she was saying; she just mimicked the noise he made.

"Look, Hermione.  I just want to say-"

"Hermione?"  The two of them looked over at Dean.  Draco immediately took a step away from her.  "What's going on?  Is he giving you trouble?"

"No, I was leaving-" she said quickly, trying to desert the scene.

"What's this?" Pansy's harsh voice came calling.  Dean looked over at Pansy, confused.

"I was just leaving," Hermione repeated.

            "Hermione was he hassling you?" Dean asked as she approached him.  "Look, you've got no right calling people stuff like that," he shot at Draco.

            "Oh, back off," Draco retorted, planning to go back to the tower, angry with the evening.

            "No!  You've got no right-"

            "Shut up," Pansy hissed.

            "No."

            "Dean," Hermione nagged, gently.  "Let's let it go."

            "No, I won't."

            Draco turned to face Dean.  "What are you going to do?" he asked in a mock-excited voice.  "Duel?  Muggle Duel?  Whine all night?"

            Dean meant as if to push Draco but Hermione pulled his robes, making him step back.  "Come on, Dean!" she said, force in every word.  "They're not worth it."

            As Dean turned around Draco snapped and pushed Dean so he almost fell over.  A few people noticed and backed away as Dean turned around.  Dean was about to respond but Hermione growled and grabbed him again.  "NO!  Malfoy, I'll report this."

            "Oh, I'm scared."

            "I don't care.  Come on, Dean.  He's just being stupid.  Slytherins aren't up to human intelligence."

            Pansy stuck her tongue out as the two left.   Normally, Hermione wouldn't have cared, but she felt as if Pansy was gloated like she had won something.

a/n-THE ORDER OF PHEONIX! Woo!  I had to go all over the place at like 12 to get that, the lines were crazy sick and the first store I went to LIED about their "limitless" supply…damn bastards.  Anyways since this isn't professional, it's just for a bit of fun, I'm not really going to try and make drastic changes so it fits Book 5 better.  Maybe when I look over the whole thing (when it's finally done) I'll tweak a few things here and there.  Plus I think Flint has already graduated according to this being their 6th year, but eh.

But it's sooo good, especially since all o' them are acting like they are actually teenagers!  Finally, I mean he was 14 and afraid of girls, it was getting weird.  But now he's all moody and like 'get away from me' and shit, which is cool in its own way.  I'm rambling.  My book version of Harry is finally back, book version is so hot.  I'm replacing the movie version of Draco with the book version though, defiantly, book version is ugly.  Like a white bat.

And I'm again sorry.  There's been a continuing case of writer's block.


	25. Aftermath

            "That was excellent!" Shirley giggled ridiculously as they, back in solid form, let the stone wall of the Slytherin Common Room close behind them.

            "No, it wasn't!" Kyle said in an outraged voice.  "You gave Draco away!"

            Shirley stopped giggling and looked nervously at Malfoy, who wasn't looking at her.  She cringed inwardly as she tried to say, 'I'm Sorry,' but nothing except a muffled whimper came out.

            "It's fine," Draco said in an emotionless voice, reassuring her.  "I don't care.  She can't do anything to me."

            "But-" Kyle started, surprised at this.

            "No.  I don't care," he finished.            

The rest of the Slytherins watched as he made his way up to his common room.  "Look what you did!" Kyle growled, nevertheless.

Hermione didn't move.  It took her a second, and then her breath came back, in huge, outraged gasps.  She looked at herself, covered in red.

"What happened!" voices shouted from above her, woken by the scream.  Her head shot back at the stairs.  Some kids were muttering in confusion, while others knew what had woken them.

'Oh, no!' she thought, desperately, whishing she could sneak off to the prefect's lavatory before anyone could see her.

"Oh my God!" she heard a girl yell as boys and girls came poking their heads into the room.  "Hermione!"

It was only a moment before there was a crowd.  "I'm fine!" Hermione shouted over the racket.

"Shut up!" shouted the girl who came to Hermione's aid.  It was loud enough for the first row of people to quiet, sending a wave of calm through the entire crowd.  "Hermione-"

"It's not blood," Hermione interrupted.  "I'm not hurt.  I'm going to wash this off."

"What happened?"

Hermione moved so the girl could see.  There was a sharp intake of breath.  Then soon everyone was trying to see it.  'Death to Mudbloods.'

It had been quite a while and Hermione was still red.  The girl wouldn't let her leave, saying that it could be dangerous.  Two purebloods were sent to find Professor McGonagall, one of them being Ron.  Hermione felt all the eyes on her, causing her face to redden behind the paint, though no one noticed.  So she was lead to the seventh year, girl's dormitory.  She was alone in there with the girl, Miranda, and her best friend, Jane.  They decided not to ask her any questions, knowing that the Professor would.

"What's going on here?" Professor McGonagall said sharply as she was ushered in by three excited girls who tried to come in.  "No, no," McGonagall snapped as she denied them entrance.  "You go back out there with the rest.  Another crowd is not needed.  Tell everyone to go to sleep, mind that the seventh year girl's dormitory is occupied."  The girls dejectedly headed back as McGonagall shut the door, turning around.  "An explanation."

Miranda decided she was talking to her.  "Most of us, Gryffindors, were woken by a scream.  We headed down to the common room and Hermione was covered in blood."

"Paint," Hermione amended hastily, annoyed with Miranda's account.  It should be _her job to inform the Professor what happened._

"What?" McGonagall asked, looking at the two of them as Jane stood silently, afraid to make a noise.

"Someone, who had some sort of invisibility enhancement, hit me with red paint."

"And then," Miranda cut back in.  "They wrote 'Death to Mudbloods' on the wall."

"No," Hermione corrected again.  "They had written that before I opened the back of the Fat Lady."  Hermione cleared her throat, clearly telling Miranda to sod off, and retold the night's events from the time she heard noises to McGonagall.

"Miss Granger, follow me.  You two, go back to bed," McGonagall ordered after a moment where she made up her mind.  She lead Hermione back into the common room, barking, "Go back to bed, all of you!" at the crowd that had not chosen to leave.  "Everything is perfectly safe; this is all a stupid, childish prank."

            "Then, why are you taking Hermione with you?"

            "You mind your business, Creevey," she said in a dangerous voice.  As McGonagall and Hermione made their way out of the common room, the Gryffindors quickly dispersed, talking darkly with their friends.

            Professor McGonagall paused at the Fat Ladyless portrait.  She turned around and saw Dumbledore, his normal smile dormant though he did not look angry.  "Dumbledore," McGonagall said as if she was not surprised.  Hermione noticed that the hateful words had vanished from the wall.  "What should we do?"

            "Minerva," he said in a tired voice, "Go fetch Filtch and try to find the Fat Lady.  She may have gone to her old hiding place.  I'll take care of Miss Granger."

            McGonagall headed off without a word, only nodding as she accepting her orders.  Hermione gulped as the Headmaster turned to look at her with his eyes.  She couldn't make out the way he felt about the incident.

            "Miss Granger, you have undoubtedly told this story at least once, but I need you to be patient and tell it once more."  Hermione didn't find that telling him was hard, only she felt embarrassed by the hatred at her kind.  She paused, thinking why she thought of wizards and witches from non-wizards families to be a 'kind.'  She looked back at Dumbledore, waiting for his response.  He nodded like McGonagall had done, accepting something.  He suddenly flicked his wand and Hermione felt as if someone took a sweater off her entire body.  She looked down and all the red crust had vanished off her.  "I'm sorry, I should have done that straight away."

            "No, no, no," she mumbled, not feeling comfortable with an apology by the Headmaster.

            "You must be awfully tired," he said, rather unexpectedly.  She had been waiting for an explanation that would make it all better.

            "Er," Hermione began, almost like she had forgotten what sleep was.  Then it came back to her, and she felt a huge weight press on her as she remembered she was exhausted.  Not to mention, she was still humiliated.  "No," she answered, wishing she could be back in the early evening.  Wishing she had stayed in bed.

            He nodded again, and she wanted to know what he was thinking.  "Miss Granger, on a personal note, I wouldn't let this bother me.  It's hard, I know, but to be really strong you must remember to stronger than those who would do something like this."  He said 'this' as if it was an annoying, mindless thing.  Like a muggle would think of spamming.  "Now come, you need your rest."  He ushered her back into the common room.  "I would see you to your dormitory," he said as if he was being impolite by staying by the portrait.  "But I must help in the search for the Fat Lady.  And I'm not quite keen to try to walk up those stairs again," he said, a small twinkle in his eye that made Hermione feel much lighter.

            "Draco," someone cooed.  "Wake up, Malfoy."  Draco's eyes snapped open.  He hadn't slept for hours until he passed into an uncomfortable plane of neither sleep nor consciousness.  He looked over at who was waking him.

            "Oh, God," he growled, trying to turn over.

            Pansy rolled over him so she landed right next to Draco, staring eye to eye.  "Everyone's heard.  You're a hero."

            "I didn't throw the paint at Granger, Kyle did."

            "Oh, I know.  I've heard James retell it a thousand times.  Quite an impressing tale."

            "What are you doing?" he asked as she took his hands into hers.

            "Rubbing your hands with these stones Patrick gave me.  Supposedly if you use some kinds of Invisibility potions your hands can smell like cabbage.  It's a give-a-way to teachers.  Someone tried to catch Steve, but he didn't go with you guys."

            Draco stared suspiciously as she nonchalantly rubbed his hands with the tiny, multi-colored pebbles in her palms.  "Why'd you come up here?"

            "To make sure you don't get caught…So," she said, looking into his grey eyes.  He felt a small jolt as he instinctively wanted to escape, knowing she was going to say what she came here to say.  "Do you feel bad?"

            "No," he shot out to quickly, pulling his hands away from hers.

            She grinned, knowing she got a response out of him.  "Soon, Draco, soon," she said as she sauntered out.  He turned away, not knowing what she was talking about.

            Hermione lay in bed, tears filling her eyes again.  It was impossible to not think about it.  The funny thing was the sound 'Dra' kept going through her mind.  She couldn't forget it.  And there was no way for her to convince herself it was someone else.  She sat for a while, anger and confusion building up in one crescendo.  "I hate him," she spit.  The girls in the room didn't hear.  She turned to the top of her four poster.  Never before had she felt this kind of hate.  It waved inside of her, like the air on a hot day.  And she had been feeling all goofy and stupid…over him.


	26. Pansy with new update

a/n-sorry I'm so confusing. I'm like this in real life too.  The ball was a flashback, chapter 23 continues on chapter 25.  Chapter 24-the Ball-is around the time for the first flashback.

            "Hermione!  I'm so sorry."

            Hermione turned around from looking at the sunrise to the boy staring at her in Gryffindor robes.  "I know, Draco."

            He smiled and slipped and arm around her waist and she grinned back at him, as if they were dancing.  She let her arms slid around his neck to stroke the back of his head. Once again she felt the floating sensation in her stomach as he pressed his lips on hers.  Their kiss was light and playful in the beginning, with little teasing nips. As the heat built up in Hermione's chest it turned into a heavy, passionate stir.  She felt his arms pick her up, and her legs without her knowing tied around his waist.

            "Hermione?" someone called.  She couldn't hear them.  "Hermione?"  It was a girl.

            "Mmmmmmmmm," Hermione beamed in her sleep.

            "Hermione," Parvati called for the fourth time.  Hermione's eyes opened from her fantasy.  Hermione, looking quite puzzled, turned to glance at her.  Parvati suddenly blushed.  "Sorry to wake you.  Harry and Ron wanted to talk to you."

            Hermione glimpsed at the window. The sun was shining rather bright, meaning it must have been sometime in the noonish area.  After a second Hermione realized her snog with Draco was all a dream and her memories of revulsion came back to her. "Oh…thanks.  Tell them I'll be down in a minute."

            Parvati left, rather bothered by being a messenger.  Hermione waited to turn her back to the door until Parvati had actually shut it.  She lay on her side, thinking.  She didn't want to see Harry or Ron.  She felt like being alone.  She did that a lot lately.  She looked at her hands, worried that her friendship with the two was deteriorating.

            A memory of stern words, stern faces-it stirred inside of her.  She saw Ron reprimanding her, warning her that their friendship could not co-exist with any kind of relationship between her and Draco that was more than enemies.  Harry stood behind him, backing him up with a defiant stare…When did that happen?  There was a sunset behind them…

            "Oh," Hermione mouthed as she came upon the realization that her memory was just a dream she had forgotten in her sleep.  "Oh," she repeated, louder.  "Nonsense," she whispered.  But she knew she was right, and for some reason she kept lingering to Malfoy.  She tried to fill her mind with all the hateful things he'd done, his family had done.  His father was a Death Eater.  Luscious would kill her if he could, he'd think it was funny.  Maybe Draco wasn't that different…

            She felt hungry without wanting to be fed anything.

            As Hermione was leaving the Great Hall, alone, to head off and quickly retrieve her books, which she had left lazily in the common room, she heard someone scamper after her.  She turned, already seeing Draco standing there with an enchanting, apologetic smile.  It wasn't him.  It took Hermione a second to distinguish the fact that it was Pansy.  She looked around subconsciously, wondering where Draco went as if she was convinced he had come.

            "What do you want?" Hermione spat after a while at Pansy.

            "Hello."

            "Hello?  What do you want?  Bugger off."

            "Hermione," Pansy called in a sincere voice, jogging so that she was staring Hermione, eye-to-eye.

            Now Hermione had the disadvantage since she was too surprised to make a move.  "What?"  At least she didn't stutter anymore.

            "I just wanted to say," Pansy drawled out, playing her hands innocently.  "That you're a little fuck," she hissed swiftly, and in the same moment she pulled Hermione's hair again and, using the hand that was close to her, shoved her face away like a forceful slap.

            Pansy turned, walking quickly and proudly away.

            She heard a scream of anger and suddenly Pansy felt the floor come up and smack her face.  Hermione had tackled her.  "Here," Hermione barked, wrenching out an entire hunk of Pansy's hair.  Pansy screeched.  "How do you like that?"

            "You stupid-"

            The girls struggled for only a second later.  Out of all luck, Maude entered the abandoned hall.  "What on earth?" she started, but she froze when she saw Hermione was in the fray.  Hermione hastily escaped Pansy's clutches stood quickly, waiting for Maude to do something.  Pansy was on the floor, looking confused and to the say the least, frazzled.  Her hair was a complete mess, and one of her eyes was limping where Hermione had hit it.

            "I-I-" Maude began.  "I didn't see anything."  She turned and walked back into the hall.

            The two girls stayed for only a second, in case Maude was going to tell after all.  They both walked away, Pansy back into the hall and Hermione to hurry for her books, bewildered at Maude's sudden unlawful behavior and still recovering from their skirmish.

***new update*** jesus, I know I've been neglecting this. School is starting up again and it's hell, I can't believe summer is over ALREADY.  I've had plans for this fic for the longest time but I never get around to doing it, I'm trying to cram in my summer reading and summer papers and re-learn Spanish before the next year, which starts tomorrow so I doubt I will.  I have some free time coming up but I wouldn't expect to get much done, so please, send your e-mails of hate


	27. The Toilet Meeting

a/n-You're right it has been WAY too long and every day I yell at myself b/c of it.  Half a chapter got deleted in this stupid rush to clean my email b/c my group in school was sending everything to me

And I'm leaving November 8th and not coming back till Thanksgiving so I need to get this done

Actually, where I'll be will have internet and I won't have school, then again I'll have homework and relatives so I might as well get it done

            "…I can't believe it."

            "I can.  It was bound to happen sooner or later with the way you've been acting."

            "…How can you say that?"

            "Hermione, it's fine."

            "_Fine?_"

            "Yes, _fine.  Everyone fails once and a while."_

            Hermione looked back at her paper on the Golden Snidget.  Her eyes seemed to close up, as if she was trying to see invisible ink, and then pop open like she had discovered something.

            "What is it Hermione?"

            "This paper is horrible."

            "Oh, it's not that bad.  You're still top in the class-"

            "No, Harry.  This is _horrible_.  I've never written anything like this.  Why-How-I-"

            Harry, while trying to make out her babbling, noticed Hermione's had beginning to shake.  "Geez, Hermione.  You-"

            "Mmm?  What?" Hermione snapped, suddenly just as stern and awake as she'd always been.  Harry faltered, not really knowing how to react to this.  Hermione didn't wait.  "Yes, well, I have to go the libr-the-er-yes, well, bye!"

            "MALFOY!"

            Draco snapped up from his sleep, disorientated and stuttering uncharacteristically.  "What?" he hissed at the fourth year boy who woke him up in the dark, sixth-year Slytherin dormitory.

            "Parkinson wanted you."

            Draco glared at the door leading to the common room where Pansy sat impatiently.  "So?  Tell her to fuck off."  He made to go back to sleep but the boy cleared his thought.  

"She's waiting."

            "That's nice," Draco sneered as he pulled the sheets back over him.  He had been sleeping in his uniform which was now damp with sweat.  He tried to cover himself from the boy who insisted on staying.

            "Should I tell Pansy you're not coming?  She'll come up."

            "No.  Tell her I'm asleep.  Which I _was and now am __going to be."_

            "But she told me to wake you up."

            Draco didn't answer.  His face flushed, which at least brought some blood back to his face.  "Go away," he growled in a dangerous voice.  Perhaps the boy heard the tone too, because he suddenly changed his stubbornness and quickly left.

            The room was quiet.  None of the other sixth years were in here except Crabbe who was fast asleep.  Draco pushed off the suffocating sheets and let the frosty air cut softly into his warm skin.  He sighed.  His hair was damp with sweat and his body was shaking from all the lost energy and sudden shock of being woken up.

            His shaky breath rose before him in a chilly cloud and disappeared above his head.  He looked disheveled, and he was.  He couldn't keep his thoughts on anything and the word 'mess' kept revolving in his mind.  He was a mess.  Everything was a mess.

            Something from his dreams started to surface.  The red paint.  He saw it so clearly, as if it had happened in real life.  Pansy had been standing by the Gryffindor passage way when suddenly she was covered…

            Hermione, _Hermione had been hit with the paint.  But for some reason he couldn't get the image of Pansy dripping in red, standing in the hall so quiet and defenseless without a look of determination on her face._

            Hermione breathed quietly in Myrtle's lavatory.  She was standing with her back against on the stalls, hoping no one else was in toilet.  She felt the weird implosion inside of her chest slowly acting itself out over and over again.  She couldn't seem to position her arms or legs just right and kept shifting them.  Finally she ended with arms pinned behind her back and her legs as far away as they could get from her, just so she could stop thinking about how uncomfortable she was and staring asking herself why was she in a girl's toilet.

            She must have had some thought because soon she was preparing to leave but just before she opened her stall she heard sharp shoes striking the floor.  She tried to hear for who it was, like that would work somehow.

            All of a sudden in an instant of fear she propped her feat onto the rim on toilet and pressed her hands softly against the walls.

            The girl outside was obviously doing something because Hermione could see her shins coming around to check if anyone was in her.  She did it again, coughed loudly, and waited around a bit.

            Now Hermione's heart was beating just as fast as it had in her anxiety five minutes ago.  But now she was scared the girl might find her and, perhaps, wonder why the Gryffindor prefect was listening in to her visit to the toilet.

            Soon another pair of footsteps came and Hermione started cursing her luck under her breath.

            "Gimmie those," the girl said to the new feet.  The feet didn't say anything.  They just stood timidly on the floor, waiting for judgment.  "Where's the bicorn?"

            "I couldn't!"

            "Uh, useless first year!" the girl snarled.

            "But I-"

            "Right, right.  Get out.  Go."

            The first year put up no protest and walked straight out without saying a word.  When they were both gone Hermione cautiously stepped out but she was surprised to see the girl had left her indigents.  She peeked in the small cauldron left in the back stall.  It was just a cauldron, nothing else except something that looked boomslang skin, which she had used in the polyjuice potion four years ago.  It didn't bother her, however.  If someone _was making polyjuice potion, they would have certainly gotten the easier ingredients first.  Besides, boomslang was used in lots of potions, particularly a type of love potion that tastes wonderful but has a horrible after taste.  Hermione left curiously, not even thinking if perhaps she should be concerned as a prefect._


	28. Trouble in Paradise

            "Hermione, will you just listen to me?  Hermione!"

            "Let go of me."

            "Hermione!"

            "Get off!"

            "H-"

            "Shut your gob for one blasted second.  Listen to me.  I don't _care_ about the red paint.  I don't _care about being made a fool of.  I don't _care _about anything. I don't _care _about you.  Would you just leave me alone?  I have catch up work to do."_

            "Wait, Hermione, wait!"

            "Go fuck yourself."  Hermione waved her hand dismissively and stormed off through the next hall, leaving a distraught Draco behind her.  Draco hand put himself out there for her, finally.  He finally told her he was sorry about everything.  He didn't know what to think anymore.  All he knew is that he couldn't stop thinking about her.

            But she told him to sod off.

            Draco leaned against the wall, beads of sweat invisible on his forehead, fists clenched.  "Trouble in paradise?"  Draco's eyes darted to the shadowy end of the corridor, one of the many dark passages in the back of Hogwarts.  His eyes closed in resigned acknowledgment.  Pansy slowly strolled up to him so he was now panting air out at her.  "A Mudblood too."

            "How the hell are you here?"

            "I followed you.  I was very worried about you…but now?"  Draco said nothing and decided not to look at her face, full of veiled hatred.  "I heard everything."  Draco's eyes shut again in anger and he turned them ferociously on her.  And with a quick swipe he smacked her face almost as she had slapped him in the past.  She moved swiftly back into position, somewhat used to doing so.  "Don't you start hitting me."

            "Leave me alone."

            "I heard _everything."  Draco slid down the wall so he was sitting.  "__Everything."_

            "SO WHAT?"

            "So what?  DRACO, WAKE UP!  WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?_"_

"Fuck off," he growled under his breath, the heat rising fast in his chest and his pale face tanning red.

            "Draco!  I'm your friend!"  She kneeled down next to him and let her hand guide his head into looking up.  "There's no one in the world I'm closer to than you.  What's going on?"

            He paused for a few seconds, inhibitions and secrets building up against the walls of his chest.  "I don't know."  His voice was breaking.  "I just-"  Pansy held her breath.  He was going to tell her.  He was going to open up.  "…Nothing."

            Before the crumbling walls around Pansy tumbled down she tried her last trick.  She brought his face up to hers and smoothly as she could.  He didn't protest her wet kiss but she couldn't feel him, he wasn't there.  Her lips trembled slightly as she looked at his cold eyes, completely void of any feelings towards her.  "Alright," she whispered.  "Ok."


End file.
